Naruto: To Overcome
by SecretVivec
Summary: After defeating Mizuki, its clear that Naruto's skills aren't accurately represented by his Test Scores. The Hokage steps in to modify his Score, and thus Changes the course of the Naruto Series forever. This is very much an A.U., and I'm planning on making it a long one! Be aware that I do Not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or Boruto: Naruto: Next Generations.
1. Chapter 1

_I've recently started Rewatching Naruto, and recently started doing More creative writing in my free time, so I figured I give this a shot as my first (uploaded) fic. Please feel free to leave reviews! _

_Naruto AU where Genin Teams and Sensei's are shuffled. This revolves around Anko training Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata as her first Genin team. I've read a few fics with this premise before, and really wanted to take a crack at it myself, so here we go! _

Hiruzen Sarutobi grimaced as he heard the commotion coming from the Shinobi Training Academy's instructor lounge. Unfortunately the room itself was the Third Hokage's destination, he was hoping to be on time for the meeting, but he stood quietly outside the door, listening in.

"I'm telling you Iruka, you're going to get a squad killed doing that!" One voice rang out. "Naruto Uzumaki is a moron, a lost cause! If he's not on a team with the Uchiha then he's as good as dea-" The nameless instructor was cut off.

"And how many Shadow clones could you make as a Genin?!" The Hokage heard the sound of a table being moved with force, followed by the voice of Iruka. "How many traitors had you uncovered? How many Chunin had you killed as Genin?!" A hush fell over the room as they heard Iruka's words.

"N-Naruto is not a Genin..." Someone began to protest.

"No, he isn't," Iruka continued. "And yet, I saw more Shadow Clones than I could count take down Mizuki, and stop him from acquiring the Ancient Sealing Scroll."

Hiruzen decided enough was enough and entered. The door slid open and as he entered, every head turned to address him.

"Lord Hokage!" Twelve voices called out in unison.

"At ease," The Old Man said. "I couldn't help but overhear your discussion, and I do mean that." He said sternly, "Try to remember in the future that every wall has ears in a Shinobi village." Hiruzen felt it was good to reprimand his subordinates every now and then. Right at this moment, the Third Hokage was feeling rather annoyed with the Academy Instructors, excluding Iruka.

As if reading the Hokage's mind, Iruka stood. "Lord Third, I was just discussing with my colleagues the possibility of modifying Naruto's Academy test scores, due to his performance against Mizuki." Every word felt like it shaved years off his life as he stared down the most powerful man in the village. The old man just stared back at him, never blinking.

Finally, Hiruzen spoke. "I agree completely. After reading the detailed Report of Naruto's relationship among his peers, I find it highly unlikely that he and Sasuke uchiha would get along." The hokage closed his eyes for a moment. "And where would Naruto's test ranking be, assuming he scored a perfect 100 on the practical exam."

Iruka's eyes widened, "A-a 100…?" He scrambled with the papers that were scattered around his desk after his outcry earlier. 'I thought boosting it by a few points would help out a bit… but a perfect score? Lord Hokage…' Iruka finally gathered the necessary test results. "Naruto would be placed under…" Iruka smiled. "Naruto places just above Sakura Haruno in the ranking!"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, "Ah, so it would be pointless to pair him with the Haruno girl, based on skill." The Hokage gave a glare to the ignorant Chunin from before. "Tell me, young man," Hiruzen could not remember the Chunin's name. "Why is it that we group squads based on test scores?

The Chunin could feel the Hokage's killing intent, and froze with no real answer to give. He looked to Iruka for a hint.

Iruka shook his head, and spoke outright. "The highest ranking student and the lowest ranking are intended to balance the team out. But Naruto is now a Mid-ranked student, therefor he'll need to be paired with teammates that are both higher rank and lower."

"Well spoken Iruka…" The Hokage nodded. "Well then, we'll have some work to do, rearranging the teams. Best not to dally." Hiruzen closed the door behind him, preparing to work late into the night for the sake of the village… for the sake of Naruto.

Naruto Uzumaki was racing as fast as he could toward the Academy for the last time. _'Last time ever, Believe it!'_ He smiled as he adjusted the newly acquired headband on his forehead. Finally he had graduated, finally he would be a true Shinobi. A Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village!

Naruto passed the lonely swing and the shady tree, he quickly rushed passed a pair of Chunin toward his _former _homeroom. _'Assignment day! Who's gonna be on my team?' _As the knucklehead ninja pulled open the sliding door, he saw Iruka Sensei, looking cheerier than he had in a long time.

"Naruto!" Iruka called out. "You're early for once, you must be excited to meet your new team." The Chunin pulled a stack of folders out from behind his desk.

"Believe it!" Naruto said excitedly, "I know I didn't do great in my exams, but that doesn't mean much right… haha?" The young Genin asked earlier.

Iruka actually smirked at Naruto, he couldn't contain himself any longer. "Actually Naruto, I had a meeting with Lord Third yesterday. He felt that your performance during our fight with Mizuki more than qualified a perfect score in the practical exam." He handed Naruto his final report card from the Academy. "Congratulations Naruto, you got a B+ in Ninjutsu."

Naruto was silent as he scanned the paper, "N-No…" He looked it over further, "T-there must be some… mistake I'm… I'm.." He wasn't sure how to process his first grade above a D+. "I'm-"

"A very talented Ninja, Naruto. You earned it." Iruka filled in the words for his former student. "Now come on, the others will be here soon, find a seat.

As more and more graduates found their seats in the classroom. Iruka spoke up. "First of all, congratulations to you all for passing your exams and becoming Genin of the Leaf Village." He held up the manilla folder in his hand. "Before we Begin, I'd like to explain exactly how we will be arranging you, according you to your test scores. The lowest scoring students are paired with a high ranking student, with a mid scoring student to balance the teams out."

A snicker game from Kiba Inazuka. "Great, guess Sasuke and Naruto were destined to be together."

"Actually," Iruka said, a knowing smile on his face. "Kiba, you'll be on a team with Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno."

Kiba blinked, but then laughed again. "Wow Sakura, I thought you were supposed to be smart. Guess you'll be bringing up the rear for our team, huh?"

Iruka spoke loudly, trying to extinguish the fight that was about to break out. "You'll be team 7! Good luck you three! Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyuga, you'll be team 1!" He took his eyes off the page for a moment to see Naruto's.

The orange clad shinobi grimaced for a moment. He didnt know either of his new teammates too terribly well. He knew that Hinata was from a rather uptight family, and hoped he wouldn't do anything to embarrass her.

The Hyuga girl froze for a moment. Her eyes widened, her head filled with infatuous images. Her and Naruto were on a team together! For once, the gods seemed to listen to Hinara's prayers! Shikimaru wasn't bad to have as a teammate either, his family had a reputation for being some of the best tacticians and Ninjutsu practitioners of the leaf.

Shikamaru had to pause for a moment. He stood up, and addressed Iruka, "So, after generations, the Ino-Shika-Cho isn't happening? Kind of a drag for you to rearrange the teams like this isn't it?"

Iruka sighed, "Like I said before Shikamaru, its based on the test scores. You barely wrote your name on the written exam, and you're lucky that you didn't do as bad as Kiba."

Kiba snickered. "Ha, ya Shikamaru, you're lucky." The boy looked down at his faithful pup, "Wait what…?" Kiba began to grimace. '_How did I do worse than Naruto?!' _He'd hear it from his mother if she ever found out HE was the slacker of the class.

The team announcements continued and concluded, and the teams were instructed to report to specific locations.

"Team 1, you'll be reporting to-" Iruka's eyes widened as he saw where Naruto's team would be meeting their new sensei. "Area 44, 8 a.m. tormorrow. You'll be meeting Anko Mitarashi there, you're new Sensei."

"NO WAY!" Anko screamed at the old man. "There is no way in hell I'm taking on a bunch of rookies." How could he drop this on her last minute? At 2 a.m., right as she got back from a rather challenging mission.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose, "Anko, you aren't being given a choice here." The Hokage began, "You were trained by one of the legendary sani-"

"So that's what it is!" Anko pointed at the old man, "It's not about my own success as a Shinobi, is it?" She put her hands on her hips and starred the Hokage down. "It's about carrying on this… lineage of yours…"

Hiruzen didn't so much as blink. "The Sanin were the most powerful Shinobi in the history of Kohana, they changed the course of history during the war."

Anko smirked, "Oh yes, the Legendary Sanin!" The Jonin added a false admiration to her voice, and clung to her heart. "Jiraiya, the Legendary Pervert! Peeping on the Innocent girls of every land!"

The Third Hokage was not amused by Anko's antics. "Anko…"

"Tsunade!" Anko continued, "The Drunk, broke, bitch Kunoichi! Every young Kunoichi should aspire to sleep with as many men as she has!" Her voice grew more bitter with each word.

The third Hokage stood up, "Enough Anko!" She had no right to insult his students.

"Or Orochimaru!" Anko spat his name like a curse. "Who corrupted two of the only 3 Genin he had ever trained, and left the third as… as…" She clutched at her shoulder. It hadn't been active since Kushina Uzumaki had sealed it, but it still made her sick to think of being marked so permanently.

The Third Hokage was silent._ 'Perhaps Anko is the only one with the right to criticise my students in such a disrespectful way. I've done her too much harm.' _He cleared his throat and returned to his seat. "You're right about many things, Anko." Hiruzen said plainly. "But this _is _about you're skill as a Shinobi. To overcome so much at such a young age… these Genin in particular would benefit from that strength."

Anko paused, and felt a slight guilt in her stomach for going off the way she did. Even if they were alone, it was more disrespectful than most Jonin could afford to be with their Kage. "The strength to overcome, huh?" Anko bitterly laughed as she thought of the countless empty sake bottles in her room.

"The strength to challenge the place society put them in." Hiruzen said. "Shikamaru Nara is brilliant, but he's unfocused and undisciplined. Hinata Hyuga is the oldest daughter of the most powerful family in Konoha, but the pressures of her family restrict her from being all that she can be." The hokage looked down at the three files desk. "And Naruto Uzumaki, well, he will have the most to overcome of any of them."

Anko thought long and hard, pointless since she already knew she had no say in the matter. She knew about the Fox kid, every Jonin did. There was raw power hidden in that boy _'Power enough to kill Orochimaru? Maybe…' _Now that would be ironic. The student's student kills the student's master. "I'll meet them at least. Then I decide if they pass, right?"

Hiruzen grumbled. "...Yes."

"8 a.m., the Forest of Death." Anko said smugly. "If these kids are worth anything, then they may just past MY test…" The Jonin began laughing wickedly to herself.


	2. Chapter 2: Underestimated

_Hey everyone, just wanted to say you to the folks that followed this little passion project of mine, and an even bigger thanks to Users: _

_rougemage251 and naruath _

_For the encouraging words!_

_Also, I decided to start using Line Breaks to help with formatting. Let me know how they work!_

_With that, lets begin with Anko's test._

_Chapter 2: Underestimated_

This training ground was nothing like the one Naruto was used to practicing at, and he got the impression that the others felt the same way.

"No way." Shikamaru said as he approached the grated fence surrounding the supposed 'training area'. "This area is supposed to be off limits to most _Chunin_, let alone a squad of rookie Genin." He gave the imposing forest another once over, he couldn't even see through the treeline. "What a drag."

Hinata looked at her new teammates, her body frozen with anxiety. What would happen if one of them got hurt? Why were they here in the first place? These questions would be answered.

In a puff of smoke and a flash of light, a white banner appeared:

'The most Gorgeous, Talented, and Deadly Kunoichi in the Land of Fire!

The Jonin who breaks hearts, and bones!

"Anko Mitarashi!" The Jonin proclaimed as she teleported in front of the banner. _'Wait for the applause…' _But Anko's expectations fell on deaf ears. She sighed and looked the three puzzled Genin over. _'These are supposed to be my exceptional Genin? The girl looks like she's about to faint…' _

Shikamaru was the first to speak to their new Sensei, "So you're the Torture and Information Department's number two interrogator?" To Shikamaru, Anko didn't look like anything too impressive. But neither was Shikamaru, he was only a Genin after all.

"Ah, you must be Shikaku's son, smart guy your dad." Anko said. "Well, we might as well start off with introductions. Since you seem so eager, how about you go first Nara?"

Shikamaru sighed, but naruto looked at him expectantly. "I'm Shikamaru Nara. I like to do as little as possible, as often as possible." He looked up at the clouds, and didn't say another word.

Anko rolled her eyes before looking at the other two Genin. Naruto had his hand raised, eager to introduce himself, so Anko called on Hinata instead. "How about you Girly? Name, hobbies?"

Hinata's body went rigid, and she looked at her new sensei before quickly darting her eyes away. "I-I'm Hinata Hyuga." She could feel Naruto's eyes on her, and she blushed. "I like t-to cook, a-and I'm t-trying to b-be strong for m-my family."

Anko had her work cut out for her. Hinata couldn't even talk without her speech pattern breaking down. And why was her face red? Was she sick? Anko hoped not, this test would need for them to be at 100% for them to pass. She then turned her eyes to Naruto. "Okay Blondey, you're up."

"Alright!" Naruto said, unable to contain his excitement. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna become Hokage, Believe it!" She gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "I love Ramen, and one of my Hobbies is trying and comparing different ramen. Ichiraku is my favorite!"

Anko raised an eyebrow, "Oh, and Hinata likes to cook, maybe you two can bond over than… or something…" She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm Anko Mitarashi, I'm the Assistant Director of the Konoha T&1 Department, like Shikamaru said. I enjoy eating Dango, drinking heavily, and sleeping for prolonged periods of time. I'm also hear to tell yuo something very Important…" Anko paused for dramatic effect. "You three aren't Genin yet!"

This news seemed to shake the three would-be Genin, Naruto was outraged.

"B-But I got the headband! I raised my grade!" He pouted. "You can't just take that away from us lady!" He stood up. "I'm a Shinobi of the leaf now!"

Anko smiled, _'well, he's got little a fighting spirit.' _She walked closer to her new subordinates. "Well actually, I can. You see, all the little Genin teams are going through little tests with their Sensei's as we speak, and who knows how many will be sent back for another year at the Academy!" The Jonin laughed out loud to emphasise her cruelty.

"B-but" Hinata started, but couldn't find the courage to argue.

"This is seriously lame." Shikamaru sighed, "Whats the point of testing us in the first place if we don't actually pass?"

"Why, to score you all for your teams of course." Anko pulled out a scroll and sat down crosslegged, spreading the parchment over her lap. "Well, just like me, you get no choice in the matter! So we might as well get started on your little test."

The scroll was a geographical map of training ground 44, complete with a few notes of Anko's own taking. The objective of the test was a 24 hour survival scenario. The Three Genin would need to survive by any means necessary, feeding themselves and treating their own injuries. They were allowed 1 kunai each, everything else would have to be acquired within the training ground.

"We call this On-Site Procurement in T&I," Anko explained. "On most missions, this is unnecessary, but its a practical skill to have if you're ever captured by the enemy but manage to escape." Anko saw the looks on their faces when they were told to relinquish most of their shinobi tools. "Now then, there's one more Important thing I have to tell you, before we can begin."

"More?" Hinata asked as she passed over her medical balms.

"That's right," Anko said. "The final portion of your test is to fend off any ambushes I attempt." The Jonin stood, seeming to tower over the children. Anko pointed to an opening of the fence, "once you enter, I'll be your enemy. If you choose to stay out here, you might as well register for the academy entrance exam again." Finally anko gave the three Genin a bright and cheery smile. "Good luck!" Using the Shunshin, Anko vanished with a loud puff of smoke.

* * *

The three Genin were left alone. 1 kunai each, looking at eachother.

Hinata broke the silence first. "A-are other Genin b-being tested like this?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "My Dad said this test was more of an evaluation of our skills." He tucked his hands in his pockets and looked toward their entry point. "This is serious stuff… She's actually putting us in a survival situation."

Naruto had been silent, he looked at the gate, then at his teammates. The young Shinobi tightened his head band and gave the other two an encouraging smile. "Well, I'm not going to back down!" He held out his kunai in the middle of the trio. "We're a team now, we need to have eachother's backs."

The other Genin looked at eachother, Hinata had a soft smile as she looked at Shikamaru.

"W-we'll have your back, Shikamaru." She then looked on at Naruto, and touched her kunai knife to his. She couldn't help but think that Naruto's rally cry was inspiring. If he could believe in her, then she could believe in herself. "W-will you have o-ours?"

Shikamaru was surprised, but smiled at the two. "I don't want to be the one that holds Naruto back from his dream. I'd never hear the end of it." He placed his Kunai against his team's, "Okay, Team 1… let's go."

* * *

Anko took mental notes as she watched the Genin, taking stock of their behavior. Although Hinata had the highest test scores of the group, she struggled to take a leadership position. Shikamaru had more smarts than he let on, but he didn't seem to care about seemed to rally the troops, but talk was one thing, and action was another.

The moment the Genin entered the training ground, Anko performed a set of handsigns. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" As she exhaled, fire was shot out at the 3 children.

Shikamaru was talking, "If we keep our backs to the fence, we've cut off one point of atta-" He saw the mass of fire, "Look out!" He pointed before jumping further into the forest.

Hinata gasped, and tugged on Naruto's jacket as she jumped away, pulling him out of danger.

Anko performed another set of signs. "Summoning Jutsu!"

As the giant serpent appeared, he giddily greeted Anko. "Hey Boss! What's on the menu today?"

The Jonin smiled, "Genin, but only if they get too close to the perimeter." She watched as the snake began to slither off. "This'll be too easy."

* * *

As the three Genin regrouped, out of breath, Shikamaru spoke. "So much for the easy way…"

Naruto looked at Hinata, "Thanks Hinata, I should've reacted quicker." He was sure he'd embarrassed her by putting on such a slow display.

"N-Naruto Kun..." Hinata said between breaths, "It was an ambush, we didn't expect her to attack right off the bat."

Shikamaru concured, "She drove us further into the forest immediately." He looked around, they were in a small clearing, a small amount of light breached the branches of the trees around the team. "This spot isn't very defensible… We should find a cave, or maybe an old, hollowed out tree."

"But, what if she finds us?" Naruto asked. "Staying in one place for too long will just make us easier to find."

Hinata looked at the two, and quietly raised her hand. "U-unless we can s-see her coming." The young Hyuga focused for a moment before activating her Byakugan.

Shikamaru nodded. "Right… we'll use your Byakugan and stay within your range to improve our defense." He was grateful to have Hinata on the team, it gave him one less thing to think about.

"But what about our offense?" Naruto asked impatiently, "If we sit around and wait, then we'll just have to find a new spot, and who knows how many there are that can keep us safe."

Shikamaru thought for a moment. "You're right, we need a spot we can defend from multiple scenarios, an escape route, a backup hiding spot." The laid back Shinobi grumbled, "If we had more teammates, we could force her into a trap... "

Naruto's eyes widened. "Wait! With me here, we have a whole army to back us up!" He smiled excitedly, before showing his simple handsign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A double of Naruto appeared beside him.

"That's amazing N-Naruto!" Hinata said eagerly. "A-a real Shadow Clone."

Both Naruto's smiled before one of them dispelled.

Shikamaru could hardly believe it, but he was impressed by Naruto's display. "Alright, then lets find a defensible spot, and set our little trap."

* * *

Anko finished off her third Dango skewer before checking the sun's position. "Almost Noon, better go frighten the kids." She smiled to herself. She hopped up to a tree branch and began looking for her three Genin. They were probably ready to give up already, the forest had a way of unnerving people.

Anko mused that she'd be out drinking tonight, celebrating the failure of her Genin team and the return to a less responsible, more fun lifestyle.

Anko's thoughts were interrupted as a Kunai went whizzing by her face. "What?" She hadn't noticed boy clad in orange standing defiantly at her. "You… wasted your Kunai already?" Anko begun chuckling as she Jumped from a tree down the boy and rushing him.

Naruto threw a second Kunai, and then a third. Which Anko blocked dismissively, "So, thought you would take the spotlight huh, toughguy?"

But to her surprise, Naruto threw a fourth Kunai, and then a fifth, sixth, seventh! Where had he found all these Kunai? Anko had to stop to block every knife. "Hah, tough luck!" She smirked.

Naruto smirked right back. "Yeah, Tough luck for you!" The Genin started slowly walking toward her.

Anko went to throw a kunai, but found that her arm was frozen. No, her whole Body had been frozen.

"Shadow Possession, Complete." Shikamaru said Plainly. "Okay Naruto, go!"

"Right!" Naruto rushed Anko, and as he did so, the 7 Kunai Anko had deflected transformed with a puff of smoke into multiple Naruto's, Anko was helpless to move. She prepared herself for several blows, but none came.

Instead, the Clones grabbed her pack, her leg sheath, and any scrolls on her person. "What do you think you're doing you twerp?!" Anko asked.

"On Site Procurement!" The Narutos exclaimed. Once the gear had been stolen, each clone dashed off with a bundle of weapons, provisions, and medical supplies.

"Shit!" Anko exclaimed, 'Now they have the advantage, and I'm still frozen in place. Her eyes followed a shadow emerge from the brushline. It was Hinata, the quiet and shy girl Anko had now realized had her Byakugan activated.

The fear in Anko's face made Hinata hesitate, but she knew she had to do this. For Her team! _'For Naruto!' _The young Kunouchi began charging.

Anko was disarmed, couldn't move and was about to be poked to death by a 12 year old girl. _'What is with these kids?!'_ She could feel her body begin to move slightly, and her eyes widened. Summoning all the chakra she could muster, the Jonin finally had a chance to retaliate, she swung her fist as hard as she could, her arm seeming to be freed of the Jutsu. The connection was made, but it was probably only enough to push Hinata back. The Jonin thought fast. "Shadow Snake Hands!"

A flurry of snakes erupted from under sleeve, and followed the shadow trail back to its origin point. Instantly the Jutsu was broken as Shikamaru pulled out a kunai to defend himself.

The sound of Shikamaru struggling was enough of a signal for Anko, she raised her hands together and quickly teleported to wherever her summoned serpent was currently patrolling.

* * *

Mudamura, a rather young member of the giant snake clan, hissed out of fear and coiled himself up as the Jonin appeared before him. "B-Boss… is that you?" The giant snake poked an eye out from behind his body.

Anko fell backward onto the hard ground, panting. Her eyes wide as she made a conscious effort to understand what just happened. "They got the jump on me?" She said angrily. "Who do they think they are?" The Jonin would have to resupply, get her scrolls back, and then _'And then I'll show them why I'm assistant head of the Torture Department. Those brats will see...' _Anko sat up and looked at her cowardly serpent subordinate. "Change of Plans Mudamura, give me your chakra. I'm going hunting!"

The timid snake grimaced. "B-boss, aren't these supposed to be y-your students?"

"Oh," Anko said dismissively. "Sometimes, people die in training exercises. Happens all the time." She couldn't believe she had left her guard down, let that little shit Naruto distract her!

"Boooooosssss" The Snake complained, "Won't the Hokage be mad if-"

"Oh, not as nearly as mad as I am right now." Anko said impatiently as she began planning her next assault.

* * *

Shikamaru took inventory of everything they had snatched off of Anko. it appeared she had planned to use their own equipment against them during this exercise, as the three Genin were no completely resupplied. "Not too bright…" Shikamaru sighed. They had found a large tree whose roots left somewhat of an opening for them to hide. Shikamaru picked up one of Anko's summoning scrolls, but he had no idea how to make it work.

Naruto was watching Skimaru, some of his Clones were guarding their impromptu campsight from the outside. "Do you think we'll be safe here?"

Hinata needed time to rest her byakugan, and was grinding some plants together in a makeshift mortar. "S-she knows this place m-much better than we do." She said discouragingly.

Shikamaru nodded, "She slipped up before, but if she's pissed off now then we can't afford to make any mistakes." He turned toward Hinata, "Sorry about the punch, I didn't mean to give her that much control back."

The kunoichi shook her head, "It had to look r-realistic, or else t-the rest of the plan would be for nothing." She rubbed some of the balm she had been working on against her jaw, a numbing sensation made Hinata feel accomplished. Herbalism wasn't a common practice among non-medical Shinobi, but she was glad she had begun taking it up as a hobby.

Naruto grimaced, "Do you really think we beat her?" The planned seemed fine, but Naruto felt uncomfortable about something. "What if she-"

"Nothings really guaranteed to work." Shikamaru sighed, "If I knew her better, I might be able to figure something else out. But right now the only thing we have to work off of is that Temper of hers." He thought back to a book his Dad had given him. "If your enemy is of fickle temper, seek to anger them and they'll start to make mistakes." That was the theory, at least.

Naruto's eyes widened, "S-she's coming!" the boy shivered for a moment. "She saw my Clones, She knows we're here."

"Try to get the other clones to hold her off, we need this to work perfectly." Shikamaru began packing up their equipment.

Hinata made her handsign. "Byakugan!" Looking off in the distance, she could see Anko making easy work Naruto's Shadow Clones. "Oh dear…"

* * *

Anko brutally delivered a series of hard kicks to one of the clones, if poofed into smoke and she growled. "Get out here kid! I'm sick of toying with all these fakes." The Jonin perfomed several handsigns. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

A massive wall of fire erupted from her mouth, spreading through and incinerating several trees on the spot.

In the newly formed, smouldering clearing, Anko saw a bright orange jumpsuit behind some gnarled roots of an old tree and began walking toward it. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, Anko guessed it was about 3 P.M. "A little too soon for my liking, but it can't be helped! Say goodnight kids!"

She heard Naruto let out a fearful scream as the Jonin pulled out a kunai. Little did she know that this was the signal for the Genin's second surprise.

"Hinata!" Shikamaru cried out.

The girl nodded and struck a very specific point in the ground inside their tree hut. A trail of the ground began to crack and head toward Anko, the Jonin hardly noticed.

"Anko began performing what she thought would be her final handsign of this test. "Summoning-" But before she could place her seal on the ground, she was falling. And falling far. The jonin hit the ground with an audible thud and groaned in pain as the wind was knocked out of her. "W-what?"

The trio of Genin stood around the opening, about 20 feet above Anko. She was in a pitfall, of the many traps laid in Training Ground 44. "H-How?" She asked.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You showed us a map at the beginning of the test, one that several of your personal notes scribbled down on it. I took advantage and we planned to trap you here from the start."

"So," Naruto asked impatiently. "Can you just pass us already lady? You're already beat!" The orange ninja looked down at her incredulously.

"Not on your life!" Anko screamed. She quickly got to her feet and made the handsign for the Body Flicker Technique. The jonin would appear behind the trio and deliver a swift kick that would-

A swift kick that WOULD have decimated the brats, but these were more of Naruto's Shadow Clone Transformations. They disappeared as soon as Anko made contact.

The Jonin stood their, shocked. "You've got to be kidding me…" She said. "They… already ran off. Again." She felt a soreness in her back and neck from her fall. In all honesty she was lucky she didn't break something. "YOU DAMN BRATS!" She cried out to the sky. Not only had she lost her cool and burned part of a very important training ground, she had just been humiliated for a second time by these twerps! _'No. More.' _She thought, _'I don't care if I have to blow up the whole village, I-'_

She felt pain in her shoulder as she thought that last part. "W-what?" She felt the spread of her tainted Curse mark about to overtake her. "N-No!" She said, trying to calm down. She slowed her breathing, and took a knee. "What the fuck is wrong with me…?" She asked sadly. "They're kids… You don't destroy the village trying to get back at a bunch of kids…" But a part of her knew where thoughts like that came from.

Regaining her strength, Anko stood. The curse mark receded, and Anko took a few more deep breaths. _'Maybe I should pass them…'_

* * *

Naruto was exhausted. Maintaining his clones for as long as he had left him feeling drained. "How much longer do we need to keep this up?" He asked.

Shikamaru grumbled. "Until she passes us, or the 24 hours are up." Shikamaru was feeling tired as well, wracking his brain to think of a new strategy to counter Anko.

Hinata had her byakugan active, scanning their surroundings for any sign of their Sensei. "She was… a little scary last time." The young kunoichi said.

"Uh-huh." Naruto agreed. "I'm not sure making her mad was such a good idea Shikamaru…"

"Well, no going back now." Shikamaru replied. "But, I think I've got one more plan. If it works, she'll have no choice but to pass us." He pulled out a Kunai and began drawing on the ground. "Now pay attention, Naruto."

Anko now simply walked through the Forest of Death. She was looking for her students, her wounded pride still stung, and she was still pissed off, but not to the level she was. She was on guard.

So on guard, that when a kunai was flung at her neck, she managed to catch it right before it met its target. Now armed, she took a defensive stance, and looked to see that Hinata had been the one to throw it.

"So, where are the others? How many Clones does Naruto have waiting for me over there?"

Hinata said nothing, she took out another kunai, and flung it at Anko. Then another, a few Shuriken. Anko blocked them all with ease.

"Or maybe Shadow boy is lurking around somewhere, waiting for me to let my guard down?" Anko studied the shadows of the trees, none of them seemed to be moving strangely.

As Anko's eyes were focused on the ground, Hinata charged the Jonin, closing the distance. Anko raised her kunai to block several of Hinata's blows but the Jonin's body was still weakened from her fall earlier. Her body felt slow. Wait… her body **was** moving slower. Anko gasped and looked down.

A long strand of Shadow had connected to Hinata, or maybe it was connected to her from the start. Now, Hinata and Anko's Shadows were also connected. "SHADOW SNAKE HANDS!" The Jonin screamed in panic. The snakes that flared out from under her sleeve instinctively went for Hinata's vitals. And Anko's heart went cold in her chest.

Anko's body broke free of Shikamaru's hold, or perhaps Shikamaru let her go, as the Genin ran from his hidden position. The boy clasped his friend in his arms. "Hinata!" He screamed before turning to look at Anko. "Y-you!" Shikamaru said angrily.

Anko forgot about the test, about her life of freedom awaiting her after this moment, she forgot about her. "I-I went too far..." She started stammering to herself. Did she just kill her own Pupil? In a test meant to frighten them? She looked at Shikamaru. "I-I"

Shikamaru's fist clenched. "YOU!" He closed his eyes, allowing for one deep breath, a pause for dramatic effect, "You fell right into our trap." The Genin turned to smile at his sensei.

Anko blinked at him, what was he talking about? Hinata was seriously-

The unconscious 'Hinata' reverted back to its true form, Naruto Uzumaki was the one lying on the ground, in Shikamaru's arms. Even more surprising, the blonde boy had a smile on his face. He began laughing at Anko. "I can't believe you fell for it!"

Anko stiffened up, waiting for some sort of surprise, some sort of attack from the shadows. But that was when she realized it was already too late.

Hinata was already standing behind the Jonin, She didn't attack, because she had done so right as Shikamaru let her free. The Genin smiled, "Y-you're C-chakra point are now blocked…" She said, stuttering, but somehow completely satisfied with herself.

Anko laughed for a minute before realizing that her body felt extremely heavily. Her eyes widened as she collapsed to her knees. "...you guys did it." She admitted. She looked up at the sky, and through the branches could see the sun, in the middle of the sky. "It's not even dark yet…" She sighed before turning toward her new team.

Naruto was already back on his feet, jumping for joy, he grabbed both of his teammates and brought them in for a hug. Hinata practically fainted as a result.

And Anko smiled at them. She had vastly underestimated each of them. Naruto's transformation and clones, Shikamaru's planning and resourcefulness, even Hinata used her shy and quiet nature to completely avoid detection. They had beat her by playing to each of their strengths, and there teamwork actually managed to Impress them.

Impressed as she was, Anko's body felt weaker by the second. "Um, Hinata, how long is this supposed to last?"

Hinata thought for a moment, "U-um… twelve hours?" She blushed wildly. "I-I'm sorry Anko sensei, b-but-"

"No," Anko sighed as she sat on the ground. "Its fine." The jonin sighed, before reluctantly admitting defeat, "You all pass, you're my team from now on. Congrats." A 24 hour survival mission? One Kunai each? What was she thinking? These tests were supposed to test a squad's teamwork, not purposefully traumatize them. Not that she had been very traumatizing, but she was planning to. Just like her sensei was…

That had to change. Now.

_A.N.: Thanks for reading Ch. 2 folks. Please R&R if you so desire. Now, I'm not planning on Uploading every day, that would be madness, but I will be trying to upload a new Chapter once a week pending work and real life stuff. Thanks again for reading and take care of yourselves! _


	3. Chapter 3: Patience

_Chapter 3: Patience_

* * *

Hinata Hyuga knocked on her father's study door, and waited for a moment, two, three, maybe he wasn't ho-

"Come in." The voice of Hiashi Hyuga said with the annoyance of interruption.

Hinata slid open the door before and entering the study and bowing. "F-Father I-"

"Failed your final exam." He said, knowingly and with a tone of disappointment. "Starting tomorrow we will double your training and begin review for the academy materials every morning. Understood?"

"F-Father," Hinata swallowed. "I-I passed my final exam, I came to inform you of my success." Hinata choked back tears. '_Why does he always assume I fail…?' _She shook her head. "I w-won't be a-attending my training w-with you t-tomorrow… A-Anko-Sensei insists on multiple hours of training e-every day, 9 a.m…"

Hiashi studied his daughter as she spoke. She was shaking like a leaf, he had done it wrong again. Every time. The leader of the Hyuga Clan had left the raising of his daughters to his wife, but after her passing he had been forced to do his best. His hardened, grief stricken heart had not been what his daughter deserved, but it truly was the best he could do. "I see." He said.

He was proud of her, but how to convey it? He admired her sticking to her Sensei's orders too. Perhaps allowing Hinata to be more Independent would benefit her. "Very well, I entrust your training to your sensei. Good Work Hinata."

Hinata stood, and looked at her father. It was rare for him to praise her like that. "F-Father… I-I won't let you down." She bowed, turned around, and left the room.

"I… love you, my daughter…" Hiashi whispered to himself, he felt tears run down his face. A prideful smile on his face.

* * *

Shikamaru Nara was facing quite the dilemma, if he moved his Rook, his King had no deterrent to ward off his Father's Knight. But if Shikamaru didn't move his rook, his Dad's own tower would put him in check no problem.

Shikaku Nara smiled, having finally gotten the best of his son. "So, was it that bad?" He asked as if he didn't know the answer.

Shikamaru determined that it was time to sacrifice his bishop to keep the rook and the King safe. "She took our stuff, through us in the woods, and tried to kill us. More than anything it was just a drag…"

Shikaku grimaced at his son's move. "Well, you were able to think on your feet in a survival situation, so I'd say our training has paid off." The older man struggled to plan a next move, '_Maybe I've taught him too well…' _He moved his knight back, and began working on new strategy. "From what you told me, it sounds like Naruto rallied you and Hinata into action. That's good."

"I feel a 'but' coming…" Shikamaru said.

"But" Shikaku said, "You threw your allies at a Jonin, and they were lucky to survive." He looked at his son seriously. "Those snakes don't exactly give little love bites. Was Naruto okay?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I told you, he was laughing at Anko. We had to draw attention to him so Hinata cou-"

"I know, Shikamaru. You did good, and I'm proud of you." The father still had a serious glare. "But sacrificing pieces won't always keep your king safe."

Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Yeah, I get it." He thought for a moment. It was odd for him to ask his Dad about his Colleagues, but he still felt guilty about what he was about to ask his Dad. "So, we're Anko-Sensei's first Genin team? Kind of odd they would break up the Ino-Shika-Cho just to give her a shot."

Shikaku nodded. "But, Anko is a skilled Shinobi. She knows a variety of… frightening Jutsu. She was Orochimaru's Pupil, before he betrayed the village, and her."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "O-Orochimaru? One of the Three?"

The Father nodded. "Back then, no one expected that he conducted his… experiments. Anko actually exposed him to the Hokage, and saved the village before he could corrupt it." He smiled at his son, "Try and learn something from her. Shadow Possession is fine, but you could use a backup Jutsu or two."

"Yeah Yeah," Shikamaru said.

* * *

Anko struggled to keep herself upright as she walked down the lonely street. The medical Ninja who had unsealed her chakra points said she would feel better in the morning, but her body still struggled from her students blow from earlier that day. Most of all, she was struggling with her pride.

As she contemplated her students victory, she noticed that the lights were still on at Ichiraku Ramen. Anko recalled that Naruto was a fan of this little shop, and Anko needed to sit for a bit so…

As she entered the establishment, the Jonin saw the orange clad Genin sitting at one of the stools, sitting over a bowl of steaming broth and noodles. Anko's stomach grumbled, and her thought process was interrupted by the old man behind the counter.

"Welcome young lady, come on in, we won't be closing for a while!" The old man said cheerily, he then turned to Naruto. "So, what'll it be next my boy? The Miso Chu special again?"

"Oh yeah, sure!" Naruto said happily. He felt the presence of another person and turned to see his sensei. "Anko-Sensei!" Naruto smiled. "Come on in, Its my treat tonight!" The boy snickered mischievously.

Anko raised an eyebrow before sitting beside her student. It was kind of awkward to think a kid would be treating her, but she didn't complain. "I'll have the Miso-Char, extra pork." She then remembered the early morning workout she had planned with the kids in the morning, "And a Dango appetizer, it can come whenever." She smiled at the old man.

Old Man Ichiraku grinned even brighter, "Sure thing! So you're Naruto's new Sensei? Well any friend of his is welcome here." The old man quickly got to work.

"So," Anko asked, "Where'd you get the cash for treating your sensei out to dinner?" She was surprised to see the Dango presented to her so quickly, but began to chow down on her favourite treat.

Naruto finished slurping down the rest of his current bowl, "Oh, Old Man Third is treating me!" The boy smiled as he spun his stool to face Anko. "He was here a while ago, but had to go, he told to get anything I like, skies the limit, you know?"

Anko swallowed her mouthful and nodded. "In that case, another order of Dango please, and one to go!" She felt some of her strength returning, and figured it would be best to get to know her new pupil. "Does Lord Third treat you out a lot?" She asked.

Naruto shook his head, "He used to, when I was little, but then I got old enough to take care of myself." He clapped his hands together as another bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. "Thanks Gramps! Oh, and make sure you put Anko-Sensei's food on Lord Third's tab."

The Chef nodded, "Don't worry, Lord Hokage said 'anything and everything' so that's what you get! You're keeping me in business here!"

Anko dug into her ramen, forgetting all table manners as her hunger overtook her. With a full mouth she spoke, "Well, I'm even happier you're on my team now, thanks kid!" She had read his file, knew about his past, so how did naruto keep that upbeat attitude?

Then again, Anko knew about growing up alone. Parents killed in the war, sensei turned traitor and _branded_ her. After her reaction earlier, Anko was grateful to Kushina for placing such a powerful seal over her curse mark. '_What ever happened to her? Kushina Uzuma-' _ The Jonin almost choked as she made such an obvious connection. Naruto's Parentage had been redacted in his file, but how could Anko forget the Red Hot Habanero?

The Jonin watched Naruto a moment. '_Then his father…_' It was undeniable. This was the son of the Fourth Hokage. Anko wondered again at how Naruto could stand not knowing. But maybe that was part of the wall he put up.

Naruto turned to his sensei, "Anko-sensei, is everything okay? You stopped eating?" The boy had a genuinely concerned look on his face. "You need to rebuild your strength so we can start training tomorrow!"

Anko smirked and rolled her eyes. "Kid, if you knew how many hangovers-" She cut herself off. This was her pupil, not a drinking buddy. Once more, this was the son of a Kunoichi Anko had admired in her youth. "You know, you're right Naruto." Anko said, "And you should probably get to bed soon. We're meeting at 9 tomorrow, and I don't tolerate tardiness."

The young Shinobi smiled at Anko. "I'll be the first one there, believe it!"

* * *

Shikamaru sat underneath a shady tree at the very familiar training ground 3. It was 8:45, fifteen minutes before their training session with Anko-Sensei. Naruto had been here and fast asleep by the time Shikamaru arrived, and it would've been too much trouble to wake him, so the young Shinobi would be content cloud gazing beside his snoring friend.

When the rookie Genin saw Hinata approach at 8:50. He held a finger up to his lips and pointed to Naruto.

Hinata saw Shikamaru's signal, and her eyes passed over to Naruto, who was sound asleep against the shady tree with Shikamaru. She smiled at her team. It was exactly how she had imagined it from the moment they were declared as Team 1. Naruto looked so peaceful as he napped, and she felt a haint heat rush to her face.

Shikamaru moved away from the tree, toward Hinata. "So," He said softly. "Why don't you tell him?" He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked back toward their sleeping teammate. "He's not going to figure it out unless you just say it."

Hinata blinked, was it that obvious to everyone else. She had always thought her crush had been so subtle no one could have ever noticed. Then again, Shikamaru was far more intelligent than his test scores showed, and Hinata knew this. "I-I couldn't," She said, her face started to glow a light pink, "N-Naruto d-doesn't feel the same way. It would be too awkward for the team." It was a sad pain in her chest that came when she said that.

"Maybe."Shikamaru said. "Maybe Naruto's never known what its like to have someone feel that way for him." The genin continued, "But if you hide it, if he never figures it out, it may just end up dividing us more." He looked up at a cloud passing over head. "Its a drag, I know, but if you love him-"

"L-love?" Hinata's face was now a deep red. "It-its nothing like that, I just have a little crush, t-that's all!" She tried to defend herself, but she knew Shikamaru could see right through her.

"Right." He said with a sarcastic tone. "And I'm going to be Hokage one day." He shook his head. "Listen, Naruto's always early to these things, right?" Shikamaru looked over the orange snorer. "So, I'll start showing up just before training starts, you two will have plenty of alone time if you start showing up early too.

"A-alone time?" HInata asked. "W-what are you i-implying-" But she was cut off as a flash of smoke and light appeared behind them.

Anko-Sensei was here. Training begins now!

* * *

The three Genin were out of breath. Anko had created two Shadow clones to begin their taijutsu workout. Hinata was able to fend off Anko fairly easily, but It seemed Taijutsu was an area that Shikamaru and Naruto were lacking.

"Not bad," The Sensei said. "But if this were a real fight, Shikamaru, you'd be out on the floor in no time." Her eyes panned over to Naruto, "You've got strength kid, but your technique is sorely lacking. You won't become Hokage swinging wildly at your opponents."

Anko then looked at Hinata, and smiled. "You, on the other hand Hinata. You've got your technique down! The Hyuga Clan must be pretty impressed by you."

Hinata didn't say anything, she just looked at the floor. '_No, no they are not.' _She thought, but then continued to listen to Anko's lecture.

From now on, they would start with intensive Taijutsu training every day. Anko's clones retreated back to her and disappeared. "I got a good sense of your ninjutsu strengths with our little spar in the forest of death."

"You mean when we kicked your butt?" Naruto asked with a childish grin on his face.

Anko's faced tensed up. "Yeah, you guys caught me off guard." She sighed. "Most Genin do end up failing their final test, but your teamwork during that exercise was…" She thought of the right word. "Well, it was better than a lot of Chunin working together."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well gee, thanks Anko-Sensei." He didn't think their performance before was anything special. They just played to each other's strengths and followed a plan.

"But," Anko said dryly, "I also saw your limitations." She pulled out a scroll, sat cross-legged, and displayed it for them. "This is a list of every Jutsu you all used during our exam. And I have to say, its all pretty basic."

**Naruto: Shadow Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu**

**Shikamaru: Shadow Possession Jutsu**

**Hinata: Byakugan**

The Jonin looked at her students. "You all know more than this right?"

Hinata blinked, her father had always permitted the use of other Jutsu by main house members, but he often talked about how all Jutsu were inferior to the strength of a Hyuga with the Byakugan and the gentle fist. She had never truly believed it this, but it was true, Hinata didn't know anything beyond what her father had trained her in. "N-No… I don't know any other Jutsu.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but his father's words echoed in his head. A secondary Jutsu would be useful in surprising enemies, should he ever be separated from his allies. "Alright, I get it… No, Shadow Possession is pretty much all I've got.

Naruto looked discouraged and remained silent. Unlike Hinata and Shikamaru, all Naruto really had going for him were his Shadow Clones. He thought about how many Jutsu Anko must know, how many Jutsu a Hokage must know...

Anko sighed, "You're all just Genin so I guess I should have suspected as much." She rolled up the scroll and stood up. "Well, I need some time to think on this… I think its time for our first mission."

Naruto's eyes widened. "First… Mission?!" He started hopping around excitedly. "I can't believe it! Our first mission together! Believe it!"

The Jonin rolled her eyes. '_Oh, if only he knew…' _

* * *

The 'mission' was actually nothing more than clearing some weeds out of an Old lady's garden. The garden itself had been overrun, as the old woman had no ability to do this kind of work herself.

Naruto grimaced. "Since when is picking weeds a job for a Ninja, you know?"

Shikamaru grimaced, "This is such a drag… but I guess it makes sense. We're just starting out after all."

Hinata nodded and continued her work diligently. Although it was very warm today, she kept her tan jacket on, and completely zipped up sweat had begun running down her brow.

Anko had not lifted a finger, as far as she was concerned, she did her time as a Genin all those years ago. Right now she was focusing on how to improve her students skills. She figured that a good step would be identifying each of her students Chakra Nature and work to teach them Jutsu that would be easiest for them to learn. But what about strengthening their physical skills?

Hinata had powerful taijutsu, but couldn't close in before her opponent could get off a ninjutsu. Naruto had heart and was tough enough, but he was mentally unfocused, and behind in terms of rudimentary ninjutsu technique. And Shikamaru... he had a mind for tactics, but not the will to lead... It would be easy to just play to their strengths, but that wouldn't make her students well rounded Ninja.

Shikamaru would need more than jumping shadows to face down an opponent. If he fancied himself a tactician, she would give him as many tools at her disposal to help him.

Hinata needed more confidence, especially around Naruto. It was obvious that she was head over heels for the knucklehead ninja, but that wasn't really Anko's business. Still, it might help both of them to sneak a few kisses here and there… But what was most important would be helping her break out of her shell.

Naruto... he needed something to motivate him, something to make him feel special among his genetically gifted teammates...

The mission progressed until the sun had sunk behind the treeline, the woman's backyard was immaculate, completely clear of the foot high foliage that had plagued the garden. In fact, the old lady was so grateful, she begged the team to stay for dinner.

"Its not much, but I've had a roast going since around 3." The sweet Old Woman said, "I just need to roast the veggies, make yourself at home!"

Anko looked down to Hinata, "Why don't you give the old gal and a hand? You like cooking, right?" The Jonin sat at the table and leaned back into her chair.

Hinata, who had gotten her second wind, nodded before heading off to the kitchen. It was very old fashioned, with a wood burning stove. Hinata's body was starting to overheat, and it seemed that the old woman took notice.

"Oh, my dear, please take that off, its too hot in here for a coat like that!" She patted Hinata's shoulder. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't have to hide behind your clothes." She turned to the veggies.

Hinata hesitated, but had no choice but to agee. Her coat was hot and coated in dirt from the day's work. She unzipped it, and went to hang it up near the front door. Her tank top wasn't anything special, but with her shoulders and arms exposed, she felt a little awkward. The kunoichi shook her head as she returned to the kitchen.

* * *

As Dinner was served, Naruto remarked, "Wow, it looks great! Thanks Granny!" He eagerly began chowing down. But he paused as Hinata joined them at the table. Naruto's eyes couldn't help but look at her without her jacket on, it was odd but not unwelcome. '_She's really pretty, you know?' _

Hinata noticed Naruto looking at her, and their eyes met for just a moment before both of them looked away. She blushed, but couldn't help but smile. Maybe that old coat was hiding a pretty girl behind it. She wanted to say something, but it would just embarrass both of them in front of their team.

The old woman smiled, "Thank your friend Hinata too, she seasoned the vegetables herself, and they're a might tastier than what I usually make."

"R-really?" He asked. Naruto was never the biggest fan of vegetables, but he didn't want Hinata to be said. He took a roasted brussels sprout and cautiously popped it into his mouth and..

"Hinata, this is amazing!" The orange clad ninja said. "I normally hate green stuff, but this tastes great!"

Hinata was dumbfounded and at a loss for words. She couldn't help but give the boy a bright smile. The kunoichi took her own plate and the group began to feast.

The old woman sighed happily as she saw everyone enjoy the fruits of her labor. "My, it hasn't been this lively in this house in many years. I forgot how splendid Konoha Ninja are, too many walk around with grumpy expressions." She took a sip of water.

Even Shikamaru had to admit that this was a nice of pace from fighting off Anko and pulling weeds. "Was your husband an artist?" He pointed toward a shelf filled no with scrolls, brushes, and small pots of ink.

The Old woman shook her head, "No, My Yanna was a Shinobi, a Sealing Jutsu specialist." She began telling a story of one her late husband's important mission for the village.

Ankro raised an eyebrow, _'Sealing Jutsu... just like...' _The gears finally clicked into place for the Jonin, the Uzumaki were a clan known for their specialty in Sealing Jutsu! A coy smile grew on her face as she thought '_A little studying wold discipline his mind, and learning those techniques would make him unique...' _"Perfect!" Anko stood and shouted, interrupting the old woman's story, and surprising everyone in the room.

* * *

As the evening progressed, Team 1 had to depart, and thanked the old woman for the meal and for the work. As they 4 Shinobi walked down the dusty road, Anko spoke.

"I need to pick up a few things for our training session tomorrow." She stretched her neck and looked at her students. "Don't forget, 9 a.m. training ground 3" With that their Sensei vanished.

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata continued walking down the dark road toward the center of the village. Exhausted, dirty, but somewhat prideful of a job well done.

* * *

The next morning seemed to come too soon for Naruto, as his body was heavy with the weight of yesterday's endeavors. He got dressed, had a quick bite of leftovers the Old Lady had sent with him the night before. It was 7:59 a.m. when Naruto left his apartment, and it didn't take him long to return to the familiar training ground.

It was difficult for him to get up this early, but when he thought about training, and about becoming stronger. His excitement flowed through him, and he had to get there early. Most of the time he fell back asleep once he arrived, but today was a little different.

Hinata Hyuga was standing there, dressed differently than normal. Her jacket was different from the fur lined one she normally wore, in fact, had Naruto not known any better, he would've thought it was the same coat their sensei wore. In fact, her whole outfit was bizarrely similar to Anko's, barring the Jonin's orange skirt, Hinata had retained her knee ankle length pants

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto called out. "You're here pretty early, I'm normally the first one to arrive."

Hinata turned to look at the boy. '_Wait, didn't Anko sensei get all of us new training clothes?' _She wondered, as Naruto had been dressed the same as he always did. "G-good Morning!" She said nervously. "I- I was waiting for you." a light blush crossed her face. "Shikamaru s-said you're a-always early."

"Oh." Naruto said. This was definitely a little strange, Hinata had never really wanted to talk to Naruto all that much before, but he wasn't about to embarrass her on purpose. "So, whats up? You sound like you want to ask me something."

Hinata's eyes widened, and her words turned to ash in her mouth. She couldn't do this, not today, probably not ever. Her confession could wait, it had to wait. "I-I-I" She stuttered more than usual. "T-t-training?" Was all she could say.

Naruto blinked for a moment. "Oh, like you want us to train together?" That made sense to him, they could probably learn a lot from each other.

Hinata had no backup plan and so, just nodded. "I-It might be g-good to work t-t-together on our o-own."

Naruto nodded. "Shikamaru would probably think 'its a drag'." He smiled as Hinata giggled at his impression. "Sure Hinata, we can train whenever you like."

* * *

As Anko arrived, she was surprised to see Hinata and Naruto already at it. From a distance it looked like Naruto was trying to teach her the Multi-Shadow Clone jutsu, and progress had been made, but Hinata's clones weren't solid enough to take a hit yet.

"Nice work!" The Sensei called out, it was kind of a nice surprise to see them working so hard, but with Naruto and Hinata here, that left one lazy student of hers. "Shikamaru! Where the Hell are you?"

"Ugh…" Shikamaru groaned, he was napping besides the shady tree. "Can we skip the taijutsu today? It such a drag."

Anko rolled her eyes, "You know what, fine. _Fine._" She huffed before swinging a bag out from behind her. "...Ungrateful... I have some gifts for you all." She glared at Shikamaru, before reaching into her bag and tossing the lazy Genin a scroll, "Some basic Genjutsu theory for you to start wrapping your mind around. Get studying..."

Anko turned to look at Hinata, a knowing smile on her face. "Oh Hinata, the training gear I picked out for you fits perfectly!" The Jonin raised an eyebrow, "Did uh, anyone special notice?" She winked at Hinata before reaching into the bag and pulled out her gift for Hinata. "Here, these for you. Be careful."

Hinata blushed, did her sensei know about her crush too? How? Shikamaru wouldn't say anything, and Hinata could've sworn that she'd been even more subtle since Shikamaru's discovery.

In surprise looked down at what her Sensei had passed her, A pair of incredibly heavy weights that looked liked they were to be strapped to her ankles. "S-sensei?

"That's right," Anko said. "You're ability to pinpoint chakra points is impressive Hinata, but the problem is that you have to get close to do it." Anko looked at her pupil sternly, "But there's a Jonin in the village who swears that these will improve your speed by 100%, money back guarantee if not satisfied! So, go ahead and get them on, I need to talk to Naruto... privately.

* * *

Anko walked Naruto over near the three training logs. "Naruto, do me a favor and shut up for a minute, this is serious."

Naruto scratched his head but nodded.

"I'm about to break one of the biggest rules in the village. I could lose everything if this ever got out to anyone." Anko herself had several Shadow Clones patrolling the area, making sure no one was listening in.

"Y-You're making me nervous Anko-Sensei..." Naruto muttered, "Whats going on?"

"Naruto." She looked him dead in the eyes. "I knew your mother..."

Naruto stared at Anko for a second. He knew the words were real, but he had never heard them, like that, in that order. "You... what?"

"I looked up to your mother when I was your age, she was a brave Kunoichi." Anko told Naruto. "Naruto, in the Ninja world, those who break the rules, like I just did are considered scum." She turned away from him, "But those who abandon their comrades are considered even worse than that... I won't abandon her memory, Naruto." She handed him a selection of scrolls. "Her Clan, your clan, were renowned for their sealing Jutsu... I think that with hard work, and a little studying, that you could carry on that legacy."

Naruto looked down at the scrolls, then back to Anko. "I..." He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes. No one had ever spoken to him like that before, talked about his mother before, his family. "T-Thank you... Big Sis Anko..." He sniffed, "I-I'll try not to let you... let her... down..."

Anko nodded, "Take some time to yourself, Naruto. We'll talk more about it later." She couldn't reveal everything to him, she knew that. But leaving a boy thinking he was born with no connection to the world... Anko thought it was cruel, and not in her particular brand of cruelty. "I'll be back after checking on the others, we can start talking about what exactly Sealing Jutsu are."

Naruto would nod, taking a minute to sit with his back against his the center training log, _'I did have a mother... I'm not just a monster. Anko Sensei... thank you...' _As the boy cracked open the scroll, he was less grateful as he saw the complex drawings, formulas, and theories already listed in the first few inches of the scroll. "Oh... oh boy..." Naruto said with a very faked enthusiasm. "I'll wait for Anko Sensei."

* * *

When Anko returned to Hinata and Shikamaru, she could see the boy reading over the scrolls to her surprise. Meanwhile, Hinata was struggling to keep her balance as she tried to walk with the ankle weights, Anko went to her first. "Hmm, looks we like we should start lighter and work out way up..." The Jonin moved to Hinata's side, and knelt down to unstrap about half of the weights. "Here, give that a go."

Hinata was grateful that the expectations of her were suddenly lowered. Taking a few steps, Hinata could walk somewhat normally, though she had to put more effort into each step. The Genin took a deep breath, and began to try and reach her top speed, the result looking like someone who had never been trained as a ninja going for a jog. "Uh... sensei...?"

Anko gave Hinata a thumbs up, "No, thats perfect! Okay Hina, give me a couple laps around the training grounds!" Anko knew Hinata would need to acclimate, but after the demonstration Might Gai had given her with his student Anko knew she could mold Hinata into something great, and maybe help her with her self confidence.

Hinata nodded and began her slow jog around the training course. Despite Anko being so hard on them at first, Hinata felt like they were all starting to warm up to eachother. _'Wait... Hina?' _Only her sister ever called her that... still, Hinata did not protest.

With Hinata on her way, Anko turned toward Shikamaru, who was still reading the first scroll. "So you like reading?"

Shikamaru smirked, "Beats taijutsu training, that's for sure. Plus... I agreed with you. Having only the one Jutsu may not be enough..." He rolled out more of the scroll.

Anko scratched her head, she hadn't seen her lazy student actually putting effort into something before. "Do you need help? I know the foundations can be pretty-"

"Nah, I'll just reread it from the beginning if I get stuck." Shikamaru then lounged on the ground, still reading. He felt Anko's eyes still on him, and he looked up at her, "Look, I won't slack on this, even if its a drag, it'd be even more of a drag to weigh down Naruto and Hinata."

Anko slowly nodded. "Well listen... If we- When we're on a mission," She began, giving him a stern look, "If something happens to me, I'm counting on you to lead the team. Hinata's too timid, and Naruto is too brash, I'm counting on your level head, Shikamaru."

Looking at Anko, Shikamaru didn't expect that she would ever admit to being a mere mortal, it was a little refreshing but the seriousness of her nature was weighing on him. He would be a leader? Thats a good joke... "Okay, Anko Sensei."

"Good. Now I'm going to go give Naruto a crash course on... being a Ninja..." Anko stood.

* * *

Naruto looked over the rest of what Anko had given him. Along with 'Introduction to Sealing Theory and Practical Application' Anko had given him three blank scrolls, as well as a small pot of ink. When he saw his Sensei approaching, Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Am I really supposed to draw pictures in the middle of a mission?"

Anko sighed, and shook her head. "No, Naruto. You're going to prepare them before we go on actual missions. Part of using Sealing Jutsu is being able to plan ahead." She would have to help him with that as well, but for now a demonstration. Anko pulled out a few scrolls. "Watch..." She unfurled each, and with a quick handsign, she released her seals from each.

The first scroll was a pile of Shuriken, stationary.

The second Scroll held a variety of weapons, all of which shot out of the scroll, high up into the air, before their arc completed and landed back on the scroll, tearing it to pieces.

The third contained... a clone of Anko, which appeared standing, smiling at Naruto.

"Sealing Jutsu are difficult to learn, I won't lie Naruto. The most basic of the techniques are Chunin level." Anko's clone said, before vanishing. The real Anko took over, "But its incredibly versatile. There's very few limits on what you can seal."

"I have one!" Naruto said excitedly. "A sealing Jutsu, I have one!" The Genin lifted his orange jacket and dark undershirt, revealing the seal on his stomach. "H-How do I make it work? What does it do?!" His excitement was overwhelming.

_'Shit... How could I forget...' _Anko's eye twitched. Why had Lord Third thought that this was a good idea? Why had she thought giving this kind of knowledge was a good idea? She had to think fast. "Naruto, you can never, ever, **ever**, try to do anything with that Seal. Its there for a very good reason... its one of those things we'll talk about later..."

Naruto's expression waned, and he looked down as lowered. "O-Okay Anko Sensei."

She nodded, "Good, now, the Enclosing Jutsu is the first diagram. I want you to Practice drawing the first formula, we'll go from there..." Anko thought that one day, it might be a good idea to tell Naruto about her Curse mark, how she too had a power she forbade herself from using. _'Maybe one day, kid.' _

* * *

_A/N: Folks, here we are at the end of Chapter 3! I'm not very good at writing training sequences, but let me know what you thought by leaving a review! Next Chapter we'll finish up Team 1's initial training, and move on to the good bits, the first C-rank mission!_


	4. Chapter 4: Results

Today was the day he would finally do it, Naruto had worked so hard on getting his first seal right. He'd done it over and over and over again, going through a countless number of practice scrolls. Once he was convinced, he let Anko compare it to the original design. After multiple scans of both papers, the Jonin finally gave him her approval.

"Okay Naruto, let's give it a try." Anko nodded. After three months of training and D-ranked Missions, her team was finally adjusting to their training regiment. Their days started at 9 a.m. every day, with 2 hours of brutal Taijutsu training. At 11, they would begin working their individual training regiments, with firm guidance from Anko, for another two hours. At 2 P.M. they took a short rest, before having her students conclude the day with Chakra control training from 2:30- 5. It was 11:30, and today she watched as Naruto carefully placed a Shuriken onto his sealing scroll.

Delicately, Naruto set the shuriken down, not letting his excitement get the better of him. Once the weapon was set down, he stood slowly and looked at Anko, who nodded to him encouragingly. Naruto put his hands together, concentrating his chakra from his body into the scroll. "Okay… here we go! Sealing Art! Enclosing Jutsu!" With a puff of smoke, the Shuriken disappeared.

Anko smiled, surprised and very pleased. "Excellent work Naruto!" She said, giving her pupil a smack on her back. "Okay, now bring it back out."

Naruto, now filled with pride, smiled back at Anko and nodded. Over their time together, Anko and Naruto had made a deal, for every Jutsu Naruto mastered, he and Anko would talk more about the Uzumaki Clan, and more importantly, Naruto's Mother. Focusing his chakra again, Naruto took a deep breath, before slapping his hands together in a handsign, "Release!"

To Anko's surprise… nothing happened. The Shuriken did not return from within the scroll. "Uh, give it another go Naruto."

Naruto, a little disappointed, tried again. "Release!" And once again, nothing happened. "W-Whats going on Anko Sensei? What am I doing wrong?"

Anko walked around the scroll, looking at it, then back to Naruto. "Once more, Naruto…" She crouched down, touching the edge of the scroll.

Groaning, Naruto slapped his hands together, once again focusing his Chakra, "Release!" he said, much more annoyed with himself.

Anko could feel the problem almost immediately, While sealing an item into a scroll required a substantial amount of Chakra, releasing a seal, did not, in fact, it required such a minimal amount of Chakra, once could set a scroll to go off on a timer, or under certain conditions. The Problem was that Naruto was dumping too much Chakra into the seal, enough so that the Seal was just absorbing it. "You're using too much Chakra, tone it down… by a lot." Anko suggested.

Naruto gave her a frustrated glare. "What do you mean tone it down, I'm barely using any Chakra!"

Anko glared back, but figured that it was to be expected. Even with Months of Anko's Chakra Control regiment, Naruto could only use so little Chakra. "Then we'll have to double down on your Chakra Control… get over to the trees Naruto, you know the drill."

Crossing his arms and frowning, Naruto began grumbling to himself while walking off.

"Naruto," Anko called after him, the boy turning around with a grumpy expression. "You did good, we'll talk later."

Naruto's expression softened as he began running over to the treeline.

Once far enough a way, Anko looked down at the scroll, "Relea-" before she could even finish her command, the shuriken Shot out of the Scroll at such a high velocity, Anko could not see how far up it went. "He almost overloaded his own seal… just like that?" Surprised, Anko hoped the Shuriken would not land anywhere… inconvenient. She looked over the rest of the training grounds, to her other pupils. Hinata was now able to run normally with the amount of weight they had started her out with. She decided that Shikamaru needed her guidance first.

The Genin was once again pouring over his Genjutsu basics scroll when Anko walked up to him.

"Are you actually going to try one of those techniques today?" The Jonin asked sourly. Shikamaru had assured her he would work at Genjutsu, but Anko had only ever seen him reading during his supposed 'practicing'. What made matters worse is that Shikamaru was now ignoring her. "Hey, Shikamaru…"

No reaction came from the Nara Genin.

"Shikamaru!" Anko screamed at him. "I'm your sensei, now answer me!" She was getting frustrated at his inability to listen, so much so that when Hinata tugged on her jacket, Anko Snapped at the girl, "What?!"

Hinata's eyes grew wide, and she was too nervous to speak with Anko's bad temper being directed at her. Hinata merely pointed to the tall, dead tree in the center of the training grounds. On one of the higher branches, Shikamaru was taking a nap.

Anko turned and looked, then back to the Shikamaru who was reading on the ground, ignoring her. Blinking, Anko put her fingers together. "Release!" She commanded.

Shikamaru, the one who was reading… had been a rock. A rather small boulder, actually.

As the illusion faded, Anko was sufficiently impressed. But still jumped over to the tree, walking up it to the branch Shikamaru slept. Forcefully, she slammed her fist into the sleeping Genin's head, "How long have you been pulling this little stunt?! Get back to work dumbass!"

Shikamaru immediately lost his balance from atop the tree, and started plunging to the ground below, landing on his back with an audible thud. "Owww…" He started rubbing the top of his head, but the impact from landing on his belly was equally painful "What a drag…" He groaned, but his attention was immediately focused on Anko as she landed in front of him.

"How long have you been keeping up this little charade, Shikamaru?" Anko asked again, with a menacing intent in her voice.

"J-Just today." Shikamaru groaned, "You said you'd be evaluating our progress today… I thought I'd take advantage…"

"Oh, trust me, you won't be taking advantage of our training anymore." She turned her head to face Hinata. "In fact, you're going to be Hinata's sparring partner for her evaluation." She chortled to herself.

"Um… okay Sensei…" Shikamaru said, standing and patting dirt off of himself.

"Hinata!" Anko called out cheerily. "Come on over here!"

Hinata ran over, panting slightly. "Y-yes Anko Sensei?"

"Lose the weights." Anko smiled at her, "We're going to see how effective your training has been, and Shikamaru volunteered to help!"

Hinal gave a sigh of relief and went to unclasp the ankle weights. "Really? Thank you Shikamaru."

Shikamaru knew how this would end, and grimaced as Hinata thanked him, "Sure… anytime…"

Hinata did not wear her ankle weights all day every day, in fact Anko Sensei had suggested hiding them before she got home to her Family's compound to avoid suspicion. At home, she hadn't noticed much of a difference, but she had little reason to be practicing taijutsu or ninjutsu at home since her training with Anko had begun… in fact she purposefully avoided or started to 'forget' when her sparring sessions with Neji were supposed to be. As she dropped the weights near the base of the dead tree, she nodded to Anko and Shikamaru.

"Okay, take your starting positions in the field." Anko ordered. "Don't hold back you two, remember, I'm measuring your progress."

Hinata and Shikamaru both walked out to the field, about twenty paces from each other. Both Genin nodded in acknowledgement and began their match.

Shikamaru watched as Hinata ran at him with a force he had never seen before. He quickly moved his hands together, "Shadow Possession Jutsu-" His Shadow didn't have to go far to reach Hinata, and that was the problem.

Hinata had closed the distance with such a speed, that her forward momentum was too much for Shadow Possession to immediately stop, and she tripped forward. The force of her strike, as a result, was less intense, but instead of connecting with Shikamaru's left shoulder, Hinata index and middle finger speared into Shikamaru's central chakra cluster.

To Shikamaru's surprise, the pain wasn't the worst thing, it was tingling in his stomach that seemed to pulse through his whole body. Like metal scraping against teeth, the feeling made him nauseous, and he landed on his back with a hard thud for the second time today.

Hinata hit the ground too, but knew the immediate damage she had done. "Sh-Shikamaru… I'm so sorry."

Anko grinned with malevolence as her little disciplinary action worked out even better than she expected. "Don't be sorry Hinata! That was great!" From what Anko saw, after three months, Hinata was roughly twenty percent faster than she had been at the start of their training. She looked down at Shikamaru, "Well, I think even you learned something today Shikamaru."

Anko looked at the two genin, one passed out, the other now embarrassed at her own ability. '_We still need to rough out the edges… but I think they're ready.'_ She looked over to Naruto, who was attempting to climb a tree with only his chakra. "Hinata, I think we'll cut things short today… Can you help Shikamaru get home alright?"

Hinata nodded before grabbing Shikamaru's arm and helping him to his feet.

"...drag…" Shikamaru muttered weakly, leaning on Hinata.

Anko walked the two of them over to the path back toward the Nara Estate, Hinata and Shikamaru calling out a farewell to Naruto.

Anko walked over to the blonde gennin. "Alright Naruto, we're wrapping things up early today."

Naruto didn't turn to speak as he attempted to climb the tree again. "Okay Anko Sensei, see ya later- ow!" He gasped as he fell back onto the ground… he had made it higher than yesterday at least. "I'm going to keep working on this."

Anko crossed her arms, "Naruto, starting tomorrow things might be changing, I need the whole team well rested."

Naruto turned to look at his sensei, "Whatta ya mean?"

Anko smiled, "After today, I think you three are ready for a C-Rank Mission." She looked at him expectantly, "Now, C'mon. I'll treat you to some dinner, and we can talk about… you know."

Naruto nodded, and stood silently. His heart ached for a moment, but he smiled. "Okay, Anko Sensei."

"Rice bowls are your favourite right?" Anko teased him, giving his shoulder a light punch.

"Haha Anko Sensei, very funny." Naruto rolled his eyes, "But… is ramen alright?"

"It's less expensive than Asuma's students apparently" Anko said under her breath, "Sure kid, let's get going."

* * *

"You're home early today…" Hiashi Hyuga said as he watched his daughter walk almost daintily into the Hyuga Estate's courtyard. He walked over to her, he rarely had a chance to even see her these days apart from their meals together.

Hinata suppressed a sigh as her father approached her, "A-Anko Sensei evaluated our p-progress today… and gave us the rest of the day off…"

Hiashi nodded, "How did your Sensei rate you? Amongst your team, are you the strongest?" He was eager to hear of his daughter's performance and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Hinata looked away for a moment, "W-we're all improving t-tremendously…" more than anything, she wanted to tell her father that her strength wasn't important to her. "N-Naruto has l-learned a Chunin level technique. A-and Shikamaru even t-tricked Anko Sensei with a Genjutsu…"

Hiashi rubbed his smooth chin, "I see…" He was eager to see Hinata's 'tremendous' improvement with his own eyes. "Well… Neji is free this afternoon… a demonstration of what you've learned…"

Hinata grimaced. She hated fighting her cousin, hated how brutal he was each time they sparred. It wasn't like with Anko Sensei, or Shikamaru and Naruto, when she sparred with them they wanted her to be better and she wanted to help them improve too. Neji didn't talk to her after sparring, or tell her she'd done well, he just stared at her with a seething in his eyes. "Fine." She shocked herself with her defiance in the word, as if her voice wasn't her own, in fact, the tone of her voice reminded her of Naruto. "Fine, Father." There was irritation in her voice, a lack of timidity.

Hiashi's eyes widened as Hinata… barked at him in agreement. He was speechless, and… he heard pain in her voice. Perhaps Hinata was simply tired… She had not had a day's rest in 3 months. "P-Perhaps another time?"

'_I agree to what he wants, and __**then**_ _I don't have to do it?' _Hinata shook her head, looking at her father with a smile that was painfully forced, "No Father, I'll fight Neji for you today, its fine, truly." Part of her felt bad for being so bitter, but her anger was beginning to boil. She thought of how proud Naruto would be if he could feel her anger.

"I-I see… I'll have Neji brought to the training room." He cleared his throat before moving away.

Hinata moved very quickly to her room, and began dressing in the traditional Hyuga Gi. Her Ankle weights were in a locked box hidden just outside the Estate's main gate, and without her jacket and ninja weaponry, she was even lighter on her feet than before.

Neji sat on his knees, his Byakugan already active, it took him so little effort, and he wanted to see what sort of 'improvement' Hinata had made in her time as a Genin. It made little difference, a weakling was a weakling, and this line of Neji's thinking was confirmed as he saw Hinata enter the training room. Her Chakra had more control, but the amount of chakra had barely improved, if at all. He stood to face her, not speaking.

Hinata bowed to her father before turning to face Neji, eager to begin.

Hiashi frowned to himself as he looked at the two genin, the two children. There was a fierceness between them that he had not seen before. Hiashi activated his Byakugan and was very surprised to see Hinata's Chakra relatively unaltered over her months of training, and began to doubt Anko Mitarashi's qualifications. "Begin!"

Neji smirked, "So, anything new? Anything at all?"

Hinata clenched her teeth. "Byakugan!" And ran at her cousin as fast as she could.

"Wha-" Neji began to question, but Hinata began an assault that immediately put him on the defensive. He recognized the basic forms of the Hyuga taijutsu, but the speed with which they came at started to wear on his ability to process her movement, even with the Byakugan.

Hinata felt a burning in her stomach as Neji blocked her quick jabs. Even now she wanted to push harder to surpass her cousin, to prove him wrong, to see him look at her with something over than content. She would go through the basic form once more, but this time, she would show Neji something 'new'.

Neji saw the rest of Hinata's form, and knew that this would be his chance. Hinata was still a weakling, and he would always triumph over, this time he would end it with one counter attack, maybe then she would give up and learn her place. The opening came, and Neji took it, "Rotat-"

Hinata performed an agile forward flip, the back of her foot colliding with the top of Neji's head, slamming his head down against the floor. '_Uzumaki Barrage!' _She thought, thinking of all the times Naruto had performed the heavy kick in their training. The Hyuga Taijustu focused on pinpoint strikes, and Hinata knew that Neji never expected her to break tradition. She panted, looking down at her cousin who groaned, his Byakugan receding.

Hiashi was… speechless. Not once had Hinata ever triumphed over Neji, not once. And here she stood overlooking a defeated opponent before his very eyes! Hinata had been light on her feet, powerful, aggressive… but she never sacrificed her control over the situation. If anyone else had delivered a move like that in front of him, Hiashi would've called it clumsy, slow, a waste of energy. However, Hinata's speed had not only turned it into a thing of grace, it had been an effective strategy. "Hinata that was…" He began, but the girl just walked away from him, exiting the training room, and leaving him alone with Neji.

"H-how…?" Neji groaned to himself as he lifted his body.

Hiashi went over to Neji, helping him up. He cared for his nephew as his own son, but as Hiashi was beginning to realize perhaps he did not show his parental affection as well as he had believed. Hinata had won… but she had sounded so frustrated earlier, his daughter's time with her new sensei was changing his timid daughter into something else. "I-I believe there will be no further cause for training with Hinata, Neji…" He said with a tone of disappointment, not with either child, but with himself, '_I pushed them both too hard…' _

Neji grimaced. His head and face hurt from the humiliating blow, but he wouldn't back down so easily… this must've been a fluke, he was tired, let his guard down, how could Hinata defeat him like that? "No! Uncle please!" He begged Hiashi, "I must personally see to Hinata's Mastery of our Hyuga taijutsu, you said so yourself!"

Hiashi shook his head, "I believe Hinata has just taken the first steps of her own path…" The patron of the Hyuga clan felt sadness in his heart, mixed with the occasional string of pride that was struck in his heart. Perhaps if Hiashi had taken his own path… He looked down at Neji, "Come, let's make you sure you're unharmed."

Clenching his teeth, Neji pushed himself off the ground, letting Hiashi's hand fall from his shoulder. "I'll be fine, Uncle. Do not concern yourself with Branch family matters…" Neji made his way out of the training room, his head beginning to throb with pain.

As Hiashi sat alone in the training room, the sun began to set. The Hyuga patron felt as though he were isolated from his own family. He thought of his brother, about what he would do. '_Hizashi… what should I do… our children hate each other, and I believe that I am the cause…' _The memory of his brother's smiling face brought him some comfort, and the Hyuga patron stood. "Then I'll… be better, a better Father…" He quietly pledged, not only to himself but to the memory of his brother as well. If only it was as easily done as it was said.

* * *

After a filling bowl of Char-shu miso ramen, Naruto walked beside his Sensei with a smile on his face. They were approaching his home, and knew that soon they would separate for the evening, but Anko still had not told him any new information about his mother, and with each step closer to his home, his smile shrank a bit. "Um… Anko sensei?"

Anko had let a couple of her shadow clones trail them from the rooftops, to make sure no one of consequence would be around to hear her and Naruto talk. She looked down at him, smirking and in a hush said. "She had bright red hair, and you have her eyes." It wasn't very much information, but there agreement had been that for every technique Naruto Mastered, she would reveal to him a new detail about his mother, but he hadn't quite mastered the basic seal just yet.

For Naruto, it seemed like enough. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at the twilight sky, trying to picture what she must've looked like. Naruto's heart longed to know exactly what his mother looked like, "W-was she pretty?"

Anko blinked, and realized the folly of her agreement with Naruto; it was difficult to deny a request from the kid, especially regarding Kushina. "... She was beautiful, Naruto." Anko pictured how her and Lord 4th had looked together on the wedding day, after all, the whole village had been invited.

Naruto's smile returned, and he ran past his sensei. "I'm going to go do some studying! Thank you Big Sis Anko!" He flashed a smile and a thumbs up at her, then ran off.

Anko nodded, waving to the Genin as he sped off. At least Naruto was motivated to study… nothing else really mattered at this point. Anko was about to make her own way home, when she felt a presence come up to her from behind.

"So… you've broken the rules and told Naruto about his heritage?" The voice was cold as ice, but familiar.

Anko's blood froze for a moment. How could she had gotten so distracted? Quickly, she spun to see who had been watching her. "K-Kakashi?!"

The masked Jonin nodded, and gave a friendly half salute. "Yup. I guess your first Genin team has really softened you up if I can sneak up on you, Anko."

Anko stared him down, meeting Kakashi's gaze. "So… what happens now…?" Anko asked, "Are you going to rat me out for honoring Kushina's memory?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment, between the two the tension was practically visible. "No… I'm not…" Kakashi moved closer to Anko, "I only ask that when the time comes… you let someone else tell him about his father."

Anko was surprised. "What you mean you want to-"

Kakashi shook his head, "I'm… not good with things like that." He admitted, "But Master Jiraiya, no one knew Minato Sensei better. I'm sure he would teach Naruto quite a bit too."

Anko didn't like the idea of involving any of the Sanin in her student's training, unless it was with the intent of killing her former Master, "You think that old pervert would take the kid in? And what happens to my team while Naruto is gone?"

Kakashi shrugged, "I'm just asking you to think about it… Naruto wouldn't even be ready for that kind of training right now anyway… just remember, when the time is right." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Anko sighed, her secret was out, but at least Kakashi wouldn't rat her out. "...I can never get a read on that guy…" She said, turning to walk toward her apartment.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked the old man over, then down at his Escort Request Application, everything seemed to be in order, and the Hokage took a drag from his long pipe. As the sun's crest arced behind the village wall, the Hokage spoke. "A Ninja escort as you travel back to the Land of Waves, that's a bit overcautious, don't you think?"

Tazuna grimaced, "I'm sure as a fellow senior, you can understand one's need for protection." The old bridge builder had done his best, but he was worried that this… Hokage would see through him.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, "Well, it seems like a simple C-rank mission… a perfect opportunity…" He mumbled the last part as he looked at a report from Anko, confirming that her students were ready for a Mission that meant traveling outside the village. "I'll arrange everything this evening… be ready to leave by Noon tomorrow."

Tazuna nodded, that would give him time for a few drinks before the journey began. He was glad the older man didn't push him for more information. "That's fine by me. I'll be back here before then." He stood and left the Hokage's office.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was unsure of what brought him here. He had received his pay for this week's mission, and should have been on his way home… but he found himself standing outside of Naruto Uzumaki's residence. Kiba had mentioned how no one had seen Naruto or anyone on his team for a few months now, and Sakura said that even Ino hadn't seenShikamaru since their graduation from the academy. Sasuke shook his head, he was here now, but there was no point in worrying over someone who wasn't even his teammate. He turned to leave, but then he saw the genin in question.

"Oh, hey Sasuke." Naruto said, usually the prodigy's presence would bother Naruto, but his mind was preoccupied after his talk with Anko. He started to walk past Sasuke, and pull out the keys from his pocket.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said his name in disbelief. Naruto looked much stronger than he had when they had left the academy, even without his Sharingan he could feel a difference in Naruto's potential.

"Uh, yeah?" Naruto asked as he started unlocking his door.

"How's your training been going?" Sasuke crossed his arms, "Sakura thought you died, you haven't asked her out in three months."

Naruto's head lifted, and he turned to face Sasuke. "It's been that long since we graduated?" The blonde scratched his head, now that he thought about it he wasn't even sure what day of the week was… '_I guess it doesn't matter when you never get a day off…' _His training with his new squad felt like a blur when he tried to recall the individual days. "Huh, guess time really flies! My training's been going pretty well, I guess, I've only really learned one new thing so far… but its pretty powerful, you know! A Chunin level Jutsu!" Naruto bragged, he wasn't really supposed to talk about his training with others, per Anko Sensei's orders, but he couldn't resist gloating to the former class prodigy.

Sasuke frowned, "A Chunin level Jutsu? What is it?" Sasuke couldn't believe his ears… Naruto had never even performed a clone jutsu correctly before… in fact, Naruto had initially failed the Final Exam for the Ninja academy… what had changed?

Naruto thought about the various punishments Anko Sensei had promised if he revealed the details of his training to anyone, even other Genin, and he shook his head, smiling nervously. "S-sorry, I'm not supposed to talk about it… A Ninja shouldn't disclose their secrets, you know?" That's what Anko had told him before, seems it stuck in after all.

Sasuke nodded, it seems Naruto had gotten a little smarter since they'd last seen each other. "Well listen… I could use a sparring partner tomorrow, if you're free. Kiba has a family meeting." That wasn't true, but Sasuke couldn't stand Kiba's attitude, Akamaru was alright though...

Naruto thought for a second, "What about Sakura?"

Sasuke shook his head, and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Sakura couldn't handle it…" Now _that_ was true. "Aren't Shikamaru and Hinata on your team? I'm sure you can relate."

That struck a nerve with Naruto, the three of them had been working so hard, not just him… "Actually, we all spar with each other everyday, Shikamaru and Hinata are both way tougher than they were back at the academy."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, same old Naruto: so easy to get riled up. "Fine, fine… but still, I think we should test each other's skills." Is that why he came here? Maybe not intentionally, but after seeing the difference in Naruto's demeanor, something in Sasuke wanted to feel challenged. "Well… what days are you free? We could still train together on our off days."

Naruto cocked his head, "Anko Sensei has us training everyday… don't you train everyday?" Weren't all the Genin expected to meet every single day? Was Anko Sensei really putting in extra work, just to train them? Naruto smirked, feeling lucky that his Sensei cared for their team so much

Sasuke's raised an eyebrow, "You've just been training… everyday? For three months?" No wonder no one had seen any of Naruto's team, the rumors of the Interrogation Corps second in command must all be true. "So, no missions yet?" He smirked, "nah, your sensei is probably too scared to let chase cats and pick weeds." At least he could get a little entertainment from his academy rival.

Whatever sasuke wanted, he was acting weird, Naruto just looked at him and said, "We do D-Rank missions everyday too… isn't that normal?" He rubbed the back of his head, "Sasuke, I'm pretty beat, you know? This is the first time I've gotten an afternoon off in a while… so I think I'm going to get some R&R, I'll see you later." He walked into his apartment, '_I can never get a read on that guy…'_ Naruto shut the door behind him.

Sasuke stared at the door for a moment. '_Maybe Naruto really has changed…' _He started walking down the apartment's stairway down to the street level. '_Kakashi hardly ever even has time to train us… Sakura is falling behind because of it…' _The Genin grimaced as he started his trek home, '_and we've only been doing one mission every week…' _ How could he have let Naruto slip past him like that? A Chunin level Jutsu? Surely it would never compare to the Sharingan… '_Right?' _

'_One day soon… I'm going to need to take matters into my own hands…' _

* * *

When Shikamaru finally woke up, he was home in his bed. The clock on his nightstand read 6 A.M., meaning he had been blacked out since yesterday afternoon. '_At least I'm not late for training…' _He thought, rising to sit cross legged on his bed. He stared out the window, watching the sun silhouette the Village's tall walls.

Shikamaru prefered slow, early mornings, they gave him a chance to watch the sunrise and mentally prepare for the day. He stood up and walked out into his family's kitchen, where both of his parents were already awake. "Morning," He said as he stretched his arms toward the ceiling.

"Good Morning!" His Mother said with an enthusiasm that was just too much for Shikamaru first thing in the morning. It looked as though she were making a rather large breakfast. "Your sensei stopped by this morning!"

Shikamaru grimaced, "Great… am I in trouble for getting knocked out or something?" He rubbed his stomach, a shiver running up his spine as he remembered the sickening sensation of having his chakra completely blocked.

Yoshino shook her head, a cheery smile on her face. "Shikaku, do you want to tell him?"

The Jonin smiled and took a drag from his morning cigarette, looking over his newspaper at his son, "Your team's been picked for a C-Rank mission, you're leaving the village this afternoon."

Yoshino squealed with excitement, "I'm so proud that you've finally broken those lazy habits of yours… I guess it was silly for us to worry about Anko training you."

Shikamaru sighed, "I haven't broken those habits, Anko Sensei doesn't exactly take it easy on us…" He recalled the first time Anko had put him under a Genjutsu, as a demonstration, an experience he wouldn't forget anytime soon, and he wouldn't forget when to be aware of them in the future. Shikamaru supposed that that was the whole point of Anko's training, it was probably the closest thing to actual combat training his team would get until… "Wait. Did you say a C-Rank mission?"

Shikaku nodded, "Your mother already has your bags packed, no backing out of it." He chuckled as he went back to his paper.

Yoshina presented a large array of various breakfast foods, "Remember, you're going to be representing the village, and the Nara clan out there." She hugged her lazy son, kissing his cheek. "Be safe, and stick close to your Sensei, your father and I know that you're ready."

Shikamaru rubbed his cheek, embarrassed, but a little surprised, "Isn't it a little early for sending a Genin team on a C-Rank mission?"

Shikaku flipped the page of the newspaper over, "Most Genin take about half a year before they're ready to leave the Village, but those who show the correct aptitude are often given a chance to prove themselves. Just don't mess up the mission, and don't die." He received a smack in the arm from his wife.

Yoshino frowned at her husband, then looked at her son. "You're going to be fine, you're our son after all."

Shikamaru sighed, "What a Drag…"

* * *

Hinata had been waiting by the gate for hours, but she had planned to wait for sometime and right now she was just glad that Anko sensei's note arrived as early as it did. Right now, Hinata wanted to be anywhere but at home with her Father, despite the anxiety of leaving the village for the first time, a piece of her leapt at the chance to have a little space from her home.

After her fight with Neji, Hinata had locked herself away in her room. Beating him hadn't made her feel better about herself, well standing up for herself had, but the actual act of violence had left her feeling hollow. That wasn't how she wanted to show Neji and her Father what she had learned… that wasn't her Ninja Way, or rather, not what she wanted it to be. '_Where does a Ninja find strength?'_ She wondered if she was truly stronger than her cousin now… or perhaps their duel had been a fluke, a dirty tactic used dishonorably. '_But… Anko Sensei told us that we have to use everything at our disposal when we fight…' _Hinata would have to think more about it later, as she saw an orange spec in the distance approaching the village gate.

Naruto's excitement could not be contained. He had woken up early to a confirmation of what Anko sensei had told him the previous day. A letter from his sensei telling him to pack his bags and get ready for a long hike, this was it! This would be Team One's first C-rank mission, their first time leaving the village! He approached the eastern Gate, it was 11:30 a.m about half an hour before the team would meet, but Naruto was pleased to see Hinata already there with her dark blue backpack. "Hey! Hinata!" He waved as he approached, a wide smile on his face.

Hinata was grateful to be able to take her mind off of her family, and smiled as her teammate approached, "Good Morning Naruto!" It always surprised her how contagious Naruto's smile was, but was sure that his enthusiasm would help her mentally prepare for the mission. "Are you all ready for your mission? Did you remember everything you might need?"

Naruto nodded, "Yup, Kunai, Shuriken, scrolls, change of clothes, a few packs of instant Ramen, the basics you know? Oh and also… " He reached over his shoulder,into his own pack, and felt reassured that his little surprise was strapped in place… he wondered if he'd actually get to use the weapon he had saved up for so long for! For now, he would remember Anko's advice about not giving everything away, and shook his head, "uh, you know what, nevermind that. How about you Hinata, are you excited that we're leaving the village?"

Hinata cocked her head, she wondered what Naruto was being secretive about, but didn't hesitate to answer his question. "I am, actually. It'll be nice to get out into the world… Has Anko Sensei told you what sort of Mission this is?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nope, I just got a letter from her this morning telling us to be here by noon." Naruto crossed his arms, "Now that I think about it, I'm usually the first one to arrive when we meet… why are you here so early?" Naruto would think that Hinata would want to spend some time with her folks before leaving home for the first time?

Hinata turned her head as naruto asked that, "Well, I just-"

"Hey you brats! Can't you shut up and let an old man get some shuteye?" From right beside the village Gate, an old man rose from the ground and shot daggers from eyes at the two Genin. "I'm meeting my escorts here, and I'm trying to sleep off this hangover before I have to hike all the way back to the Land of Waves!"

Naruto glared at the old man, and was surprised he hadn't smelled the booze on him from a mile away, "Ah can it you old Geezer! Go take your nap somewhere else."

"Bah," The old man scoffed, "When my team of Ninja get here, I'll have them teach you some respect for the elderly!"

Naruto blew a raspberry at the old man, "Pfft, as if any self respecting Ninja would agree to escort a crazy old drunk, your escorts are probably a bunch of pushovers compared to a great Ninja like me!" As he spoke, Naruto felt a presence behind him, and then a hand on his shoulder.

The hand belonged to none other than Anko, who spoke to Naruto with clenched teeth, "Actually, Naruto, we're going to be his escorts." She then took her first and railed it hard into the Genin's head, "So show a little respect!" She yelled.

"Owwwww!" Naruto cried,crouching down and rubbing his head "There's no way I could've known that Anko Sensei!" He moped.

The old man walked up to the beautiful Jonin, leaning beside the wall. "So… you're going to be my escort?" He smiled at Anko, "Well my dear, you may call me Tazuna, the legendary Bridgebuilder of hearts~" He leaned close to Anko, "Why not ditch these kiddies and we can run off, just the two of us, maybe grab a drink?"

Anko took a deep breath, and turned to Hinata, "This is an important lesson Hinata, pay attention…" The Jonin then delivered an Identical punch to the top of Tazuna's head as she had to Naruto's, only adding a jump to make up for their difference in height. "With a light weight like you? Not a chance!"

Hinata was surprised to see the old man in the same position as Naruto, the two crouching beside each other in solidarity. She felt bad for Naruto, less so for this Tazuna. "I think I got the lesson, Anko Sensei."

"My aching head!" The old man cried, turning to Naruto with only one eye open, "That's your teacher? You have my condolences kid…"

Anko sighed, "I'm Anko Mitarashi, I'm in charge of this mission, and that means everyone here is going to do whatever I say, whenever I say. Understood?" She wanted to make this rule very clear to not only her students but to her client as well. "I said, am I understood?!"

"Yes Ma'am!" 4 voices cried out in Unison, and the three Ninja, plus Tazuna turned to see Shikamaru approaching.

"Well… You're actually on time for once." Anko said to Shikamaru, smiling.

"Can't let the team down." Shikamaru greeted the group, and faced the gate.

"Well then, let's begin our Mission briefing, look sharp Naruto." Anko pulled out one of her map scrolls, and layed on the ground for everyone to see.

The Genin would each pay close attention to the information that Anko was giving them, she had a habit of not repeating herself as a rule.

Anko began. "We'll be escorting Tazuna here to his homeland, the Land of Waves." She pointed to the location on her Map, then back to the Hidden leaf village, "We'll be heading east through friendly territory until we reach the coast here," Her finger traced a line along the map to a small marking that read 'Land of Whirlpools', "From there, we'll be taking a Ferry to the Land of Waves, seeing Tazuna safely to his homeland." She looked at each of her Genin's faces, "This is a C-Rank Escort Mission, we aren't expecting any surprises, but that doesn't mean you can let your guard down. I expect each of you to not only protect our Client, but each other as well."

The three nodded to their Sensei in Unison.

Anko smiled, "Well Tazuna, I hope you're ready! Because my students have a fire in them!"

The old man groaned, but stood up. Looking the children over, he suddenly sobered up, and remembered the position he was truly in. He couldn't go back now, he had already paid the village for the job. "I suppose I am…"

Anko turned to face the gate. "Team One! Let's go!"


	5. Chapter 5: Adversity

Zabuza Momochi cracked his neck as he reclined on the couch, thumbing through his bingo book. He had to admit that Gato's hideout had a certain dark appeal to it, although why a mob boss would set up his headquarters in a glorified tree house still puzzled him. As it happened, Zabuza's relaxation was interrupted as his 'Boss' entered the room.

The short bespectacled man had an annoyed look on his face as Zabuza paid no mind to his entrance. The Mob Boss wondered if Zabuza and his goons were actually worth the premium he had been paying them for, "The Bridgebuilder's been on the road for two days now, and you're sittin' here reading your little book, what am I payin' you for?" Gato growled at Zabuza in annoyance.

The Shinobi raised his eyes to Gato, sensing the Mob Boss's fear even through his dark glasses. He took his gigantic sword and raised it, resting the edge against the smaller man's throat, "You should have more faith Gato, my last employer struggled with faith… and now he's dead." A menacing chuckle came from behind his mouth cover.

"I-I" Gato swallowed. He should never have hired Zabuza and his little gang of freaks from the Hidden Mist Village. "I-I'm sorry Zabuza, I just don't want anything compromisin' this operation, this old Man's bridge threatens my business and its been making me anxious!" He stifled out a nervous laugh, "I know you're the best at what at what you do, I'm just worried about these Shinobi the Old Man hired… 'makes me feel like I'm not holdin' all the cards anymore…"

Zabuza lowered his sword, but his eyes were still transfixed on Gato's dark glasses. "Don't worry Gato, my underlings can handle a few Leaf Village Shinobi. And if they can't…" The swordsmen let out a hearty laugh, "Then I'll get to deal with them myself."

Gato nodded, "Y-yeah… nothing to be worried about, right? I mean, no one's more brutal Zabuza's boys right? Haha… ha."

* * *

As the Morning Sun began to rise overhead, Team One (Plus Tazuna) began packing up their makeshift camp. It was the start of their third day of travel and so far everything had been smooth sailing, apart from Tazuna spending most of the journey at least partially intoxicated. Even as they packed up, Anko had seen him take a swig of his bottle when he thought she wasn't looking.

Anko had also noticed that the old man had been especially quiet since they had left the village, and most attempts at conversation with the old man showed that he was never paying attention to the group's conversations. In Anko's expert opinion, he was on the lookout for something, or someone… She was positive that the bridge builder was hiding something, but what? Her contemplation would be interrupted as Hinata came up to her.

"The boys and I are all packed." The Genin smiled at her Sensei. "We're going to reach the coast today right?"

"Yup, so I want the three of you to be on extra high guard." Anko said absent mindedly. She was securing her pack, positive she was missing something. "Hinata, help me check my pack, I'm missing something right? Something obvious?"

Hinata looked into her sensei's backpack, but didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary. "I don't think so Anko Sensei, the campsite is empty except for Mr. Tazuna's things."

Anko once again looked through her things, everything was there, but she still felt like something was staring her in the face.

"Maybe try making a list when you pack?" Hinata suggested, feeling a bit bad for her Sensei, "It helps to make sure that I'm not missing anything."

Anko's head shot up, and she looked at Hinata. "Hinata, are you feeling alright?" She inspected the girl's face for any discoloration, she had a suspicion but it couldn't be…

Hinata's eyes widened at the sudden concern from Anko, "Um, I feel fine Sensei, why?"

Anko's look at Hinata intensified for a moment, before her features relaxed and she let out a sigh of relief, "Nothing Hinata… I just can't help but feel a bit proud…" She smiled at her Genin student, It was only now that Anko noticed: Hinata had not struggled with her stutter once in the three days they had been travelling.

Hinata was a bit confused, but Anko Sensei seemed to find what she was missing. Not sure of what to say, she nodded before walking back to her fellow Genin.

Anko closed her pack and threw the straps over her shoulders, '_Maybe I'm not such a bad Sensei after all…' _The distraction had been nice, but her thoughts wandered back to whatever it was Tazuna was hiding from her. Her eyes now fixed on him, and she approached the old man as he was slowly packing. "You should know something, Mr. Tazuna." Anko said grimly.

The old man stopped his packing for a moment, and turned his head slowly toward her. Since they'd met, Tazuna had tried to stay on the violent women's good side, but she had been watching him like a hawk for two days now and he was starting to crack. "W-what would that be Anko?"

Anko crouched down, meeting Tazuna eye to eye, "I am the Hidden Leaf Village's second in command in Torture and Interrogation Corps."

Tazuna's eyes widened, and his pupils shrank. "W-wha-"

"That means," Anko continued, "That if whatever you're hiding jeopardizes my students… well, I'll have a very easy, very _fun_ time extracting it from you."

Tazuna couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't spend another day with this madwoman's eyes watching him. "Alright, I-"

Anko put a finger up, shushing him, "Think very carefully about what you want to say to me, pack up you shit, meet us by the road, and _then_ you can tell us anything you like." Anko stood and walked through the brush to her three Genin. The three were crouched side by side, looking down the road with intense expressions. Anko hurried over. "Whats are you three doing?"

Naruto looked up at her, "Anko Sensei, do you remember the last time it rained? Its been a long time, right?" He had a nervous look in his eye.

Anko shook her head, "Why whats happening?"

Hinata pointed to what the trio were looking at. "Shikamaru noticed it earlier... "

Anko followed Hinata's finger toward its target, up ahead about 30 meters down the road the sun reflected off the ground. Anko squinted her eyes to focus and saw what the three were staring at, a puddle. The Jonin thought back, despite her hesitation to answer Naruto's question earlier, her Memory had been conditioned to recall even the smallest detail. "Its been 6 weeks, three days since it rained last… too long for a puddle that size to linger…" It was more than suspicious, but she recognized that a lesser Ninja wouldn't even had noticed. "Shikamaru, good work." Anko whispered.

The Genin nodded, "There hasn't been any suspicious movement since I noticed it… if it is an enemy, we may still have the element of surprise." His voice was hushed, but Shikamaru felt anything but calm. '_If its an enemy trap… then this could be the real deal…' _ He swallowed hard, his heart thumping in his chest. However, his focus on the puddle, on impending danger, was broken as his Sensei placed her hand on his shoulder.

"We've trained for this." Anko reassured Shikamaru, she then looked at Hinata. "Hinata, go help Tazuna finish packing and get him out here." She then turned to face Naruto, "I need two clones positioned on either side of the road, and they need to remain undetected. Understood?"

Naruto nodded before crossing his fingers in his most practiced handsign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu~" He whispered, and four duplicates of him appeared. Naruto's gut churned in a mixture of nervousness and excitement. A moment like this was what truly began a Ninja's career… and his determination seemed to be overcoming his worry. '_After all… Anko Sensei has been working us for months…' _

Anko looked down at Shikamaru and offered a reassuring grin. "Be on your guard, always, but trust in your training. Trust in yourself. If anything goes down I want you to try and get the enemy with your Shadow Possession, but if that doesn't work, try to force them to the treeline for Naruto's clones to ambush them." She then turned her head and saw Hinata and Tazuna approaching, much to Anko's relief.

Shikamaru took a deep breath. They had a plan… he felt more reassured knowing that Anko Sensei had thought things through. He nodded, and both Shikamaru and Naruto stood.

Anko pointed to Hinata and then tilted her head in Tazuna's direction.

Hinata nodded in understanding, she would stay close to Tazuna, and provide as much cover for the old man as possible. "Byakugan~" She said in a whisper, her vision altering as she could see the area surrounding the group in a 358 degree circle.

"Tazuna!" Anko barked. "Stay close to Hinata, she'll keep you safe."

The bridge builder did as told, but was a bit dumbfounded, "W-what's going on?"

"We don't know yet." Shikamaru answered. He remembered what Anko had told him, if anything were to happen to her, he would be the one to take over the mission. Shikamaru had a responsibility to his team to keep his emotions in check. "We aren't taking any chances so just do as our Sensei says."

Naruto blinked, before rubbing his eye. One of his clones had just signaled him with a mirror, "We're good to go." Naruto announced to the rest of the group.

Hinata looked at Naruto from behind, the determination in his voice resonated with her. Despite her fear of having to fight an enemy Shinobi, she was even more afraid that Naruto would be hurt. She would have to be strong for her team.

The group began moving forward one pace at a time. Hinata and Shikamaru kept guard in front of and behind Tazuna respectively, while Anko and Naruto walked on either side of Tazuna. Anko would be closest to the puddle in case something did happen.

They were only about ten meters further down the road when they came into Hinata's range, "Sensei!" She called out, beneath the puddle she could now see a mass of chakra points, too many for it to only be one person. "Two enemies!"

Anko didn't hesitate, her hand went to the pouch at her hip, and she flung a kunai toward the puddle. She wouldn't take any chances with her new students, and sent a little surprise along with her knife.

As the Kunai landed in front of the puddle, two Shinobi emerged from it. "Looks like our Ambush didn't work brother!" One of them cackled.

"B-brother!" The other pointed toward the ground. A paper bomb was attached to the ring at the end of the Kunai's handle, its fuse about to reach its base. As the bomb went off,the two brothers hit the dirt on either side of the Kunai, one of them was knocked into the brush by the blast, but the other had used a substitution Jutsu.

"Naruto!" Anko yelled, loud enough for all of his clones to hear as well. She sprinted toward the dust cloud.

Naruto followed behind his sensei as fast as he could, and out of the corner of his eye he saw orange jackets attacking something in the bushes. Their ambush had worked!

"Shikamaru there!" Hinata pointed, through the dust cloud she could see where the Shinobi had landed after his substitution.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" The Genin crouched and his shadow extended ahead of the group from the shadow of Hinata's fingertips.

The enemy shinbo put his hands together, "Water Clone Jutsu!" From the puddle beside him, the water shaped to match his form. The clone would charge and, concealed by the dust, would run forward to engage the eldest of the Ninja approaching him.

Anko barely had time to block a swift kick directed toward her face.

"Anko Sensei!" Naruto called out, focusing on his Sensei and not the Shinobi still concealed in the dust cloud.

The real version of the Enemy Shinobi chuckled, they might have seen through their trap, but no one except Zabuza could beat the Demon Brothers, and he had always been the stronger of the two. He raised his arm and let his chain whip fly from his hands toward the distracted Genin. "Amateur!" He cried out.

Naruto's eyes widened, but he turned to see the whiplash out from the dust cloud, coming right for him.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru cried, he diverted his shadow, and connected it to Naruto, Unsure, of what to do, Shikamaru stuck out his hand in an attempt to help Naruto stop the chain from landing a direct hit.

Naruto felt his arm move without his consent, and the chain would wrap around Naruto's hand. The sharp edges of the chain stung, and cut into his palm, but he was grateful that Sikamaru had acted. His eyes looked down, and Naruto saw something interesting. "Shikamaru! The chain has a shadow!"

Shikamaru nodded, and he put more of his chakra into his jutsu, following the chain's shadow back to its user.

The Demon brother was surprised that the boy had caught his chain, but was more amused than anything. "Stupid kid! I'll just tear your hand clear off!" He went to rip his razer chain back from the leaf Genin's grip… but his arm wouldn't move…

The Water clone turned its head back to wear its original was located. "W-what happ-" the water clone would suddenly dissipate as Anko delivered a swift kick through its chest.

"Naruto, are you alr-" Anko began to ask, but as the dust cloud began to lift, she saw the scene of the battle before her. The Enemy Shinobi was frozen in place, a thick dark Shadow extended from him, under the Shadow of the chain whip to Naruto, and then all the way back to Shikamaru. Meanwhile, two of Naruto's clones had already subdued the other Shinobi after Anko's paper bomb had disoriented him. "Now all that's left is to-" Anko did have time to finish her sentence before Hinata had rushed the Shadow Possessed enemy.

Hinata had unclasped her weights the moment Naruto had been in danger, and with her unrestricted speed, delivered several intense chakra blocking strikes. She then followed up with a kick to the enemies knee, a shattering noise could be heard as her strike landed.

"AHhhhhhhghhhh!" The enemy shinobi cried out as he was sure the side of his knee fractured. He then fell to the ground, his chain whip going limp along with his body.

Anko put her hands on her hips… all in all, the fight had gone much smoother than Anko thought it would. She approached Naruto, who was carefully unwrapping the razer chain from his hand, but as Anko got closer, she whiffed a familiar scent in the air. "Poison!" Anko said, grabbing Naruto's hand. "Naruto, the chains were poisoned, we need to bleed your hand before it spreads."

Naruto looked down at his hand, and then back to his sensei, "Wait, what?! I've been poisoned?" He said, beginning to panic.

"Calm down." Anko said, pulling out one of her kunai. "Just let me-"

Naruto snatched his hand away from Anko. "N-No!" Naruto insisted, "L-Look… just let me do it okay?" Naruto took a deep breath as his sensei gave him the kunai. It was even scarier doing it himself, but something inside him couldn't let someone else take care of it for him.

"Naruto you have to hurry…" Anko said, trying to stay calm.

"Can't we take naruto back to the village?" Hinata suggested.

Shikamaru and Tazuna had walked over to the others. "It would just hurt Naruto more to wait until we got him back… do we have any medicine or-"

"Agh!" Naruto let out a sharp groan as he plunged his kunai through his palm. He swiftly pulled the blade back out, and turned his head to not look directly at the wound. "I-It's fine guys… I can take it." He took a few deep breaths, letting his hand fall to his side. "I'm sorry for freezing up like that… I won't ever let it happen again." He looked at His sensei, and then to Shikamaru, "Thanks for saving me like that."

"Anytime Naruto," Shikamaru said. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Naruto shook his head, and looked at his teammates, "You and Hinata both had my back… I promise that I'll be the one you guys are counting on from now on." He held up his bleeding fist. "And I never go back on my word…"

"That's your Ninja way, right Naruto?" She said, admiring Naruto's stoic behavior. If only he knew how much she already counted on him.

Anko raised an eyebrow, and cracked a smile. "Well, that's a fine pledge to make Naruto… but you're going to bleed out from a wound that deep…"

Naruto suddenly felt sick to his stomach, "O-oh…"

Anko approached her student, and pulled out a bandage, wrapping his hand up. As she examined it, she noticed that the wound was beginning to heal right in front of her. The edges of Naruto's split skin was already beginning to grow! '_This must be the Nine-Tails… his Mother's legacy…' _Anko securely wrapped the bandage around Naruto's hand. "There, now quit being such a tough guy. You all did exceptionally well for your first combat encounter… especially against these Chunin from the Hidden Mist Village." She turned to look at Tazuna, a deadly glare on her face. "Alright old man… you have one chance to explain what's going on."

* * *

Zabuza looked to Haku, his eyebrows raised in surprise as he heard the news from his masked subordinate, "So the demon brothers fell to a Genin squad and their sensei? How disappointing…"

Haku nodded, "Yes, although I have to say I did learn a few things about them, so their operation was not a complete failure." The masked Chunin held up Zabuza's Bingo book. "...Anko Mitarashi…"

Zubuza cocked his head, "The Viper? She was trained by one of the Leaf's legendary ninja… how interesting."

"One of her students seems to possess a visual technique… the other uses a hidan technique that incorporates Shadows." Haku closed the book. "The third has mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Zabuza chuckled, "So, A Kekkei Genkai, a Secret Jutsu, and what must be a Genin prodigy, lead by the Brutal Viper of the Leaf?" His Chunin underlings didn't stand a chance… "Well it might be time that I went and introduced myself." Zabuza stood, towering above Haku and attaching his sword to its place at his back.

"If you underestimate them… I'll have to save you again." a small laugh came from behind Haku's mask.

Zabuza squinted at him. "Remember your place, we only pull that little stunt as a last resort…"

"Of course, Zabuza." Haku gave a small bow.

* * *

The sun began to set in Hiruzen Sautobi's office. He had just finished a long day of filing various sheets of paperwork, assigning missions to various squads, and beginning preparation for this year's Chunin Exams. He was hoping to enjoy a quiet smoke of his pipe before returning to his family home to see his son and grandson, but was interrupted when one of the Chunin assigned to guard the gate opened his office door.

"Message for you Lord Hokage!" The Chunin knelt and presented the scroll to the Hokage. "Anko's… pet delivered it to us."

Hiruzen picked up the scroll and began reading it:

_The bridgebuilder had a few secrets. _

_He's got a price on his head. Hidden Mist Shinobi. 2 Chunin captured. No sign of Jonin._

_Team One is prepared to continue the mission._

_We arrive in the Land of Waves at dawn._

_A.M._

Hiruzen pulled on his beard,so Tazuna had been hiding the danger from him, no doubt his finances were too low to afford a proper Ninja escort for what they would be up against. The Third Hokage sighed, smoke pouring from his mouth. A Genin's first mission was meant as a test against thieves, mountain bandits, not other full fledged combatants. But it sounded as though what he thought would be a C-Rank mission, might actually be a B, or even A-Rank mission.

"Lord Hokage?" the Chunin asked.

Hiruzen cleared his throat, "So be it…" If Anko had faith in her students, Hiruzen would have faith in her. '_She is not Orochimaru… she will guide them correctly.' _"Return to Mudamura and tell the Snake that the Hokage approves of Anko's decision. This Mission is B-Rank now, but if a Jonin threat presents itself, they will be undertaking an A-Rank Mission!"

* * *

"So…" Tazuna asked quietely as the small boat they sat in was propelled slowly by an old boatman. "What happens now?"

Anko spat into the water, "If the Hokage approves it, we'll be assigned to guard you until one of two things happen." The Jonin held up a finger, "One, you finish your damn bridge… which would take months I'm assuming…" She then held up a second finger, "Or two, the more preferable option, we defeat the Assassins sent after you and find their boss." Anko then smiled, "You will then pay the Hidden Leaf Village the proper Escort fees, and depending on what rank the Hokage places this mission at… well I'd stop drinking and start saving if I were you."

Tazuna gave a faint smile, "s-so generous of you Ms. Anko…"

The Jonin shot daggers with her eyes, "You should be grateful my students agreed to this…"

"Hush up!" The boatman pleaded. "I swear Tazuna, after this, you and I are even… I don't need friends who keep crossing Ninja!" He complained in a hush tone.

As the Boat approached the shore, the only sound that could be heard were the waves lapping against the shore. A heavy Mist had rolled in during the early morning, making it difficult for the group to perceive their surroundings.

"Byakugan!" Hinata activated her visual technique. They had not rested since the previous day, and the use of Hinata's Byakugan was starting to wear on her chakra supply

"We're really lucky to have you hear Hinata." Naruto said with a sigh of relief. The boat ride had been tense, and the three Genin had remained mostly silent since their journey across the channel began.

Anko nodded. "But don't overexert yourself, we all need to be on top form." She pulled a small scroll and held it between her thumbs, moving her fingers together in various handsigns. "Summoning Jutsu!" She bit her thumb and unravelled the scroll, letting a streak of blood fly across her Summoning formula.

With a puff of smoke, the adolescent giant serpent MudaMura appeared. "Hey Boss! I got some good news for ya!" He then looked down, "Oh hey Naruto! How's the Sealing Jutsu coming along?"

Naruto smiled up to the big snake, the two had only met a few times, but it seemed like MudaMura considered him a friend. "S'goin okay." He put his hands behind his back, "Hey do you think I could try summoning you sometime?"

"Ehhh," The snake paused, "Anko probably wouldn't like that… she's been raising me since I was no bigger than a garden snake, she gets really overprotective sometimes."

"MudaMura, focus… the Hokage?" Anko sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Oh yeah!" The giant snake looked at Anko, "Lord Third approves, the mission is classified as B-rank as long as you're only facing Chunin level threats."

Anko looked at her team, "Are you all still willing to go through with this?"

The three Genin looked at each other for a moment, then back to Anko before Naruto spoke. "I never go back on my word."

Tazuna looked the bizarre group over, children who could fight they did were strange enough… but the fact that they would stay to help him showed the kind of characters these kids had. The old man felt bad that he had thrown a bunch of kids into danger, but their resolve to help him had touched his heart. "You're welcome to stay with my family, we don't have much, but its the least I can do."

Anko nodded. She was still suspicious of the old man, especially after he told her what he was hiding. Anko had never heard of this Gato, but she knew his type: greedy, mean, and overconfident… he, or one of his goons, would slip up eventually, and when his location was known, Anko would strike… hopefully.

The group found the road through the Mist and began their hike to the Bridgebuilder's home. It wasn't too far, at their current pace in their defensive formation and if nothing got in their way, they would be there before 8 A.M.. The light of early morning gave the mist a dull grey appearance, making it difficult for the non Hyuga members of the group to perceive their surroundings.

From what Anko remembered of the map, they would be coming up to a crossing soon, a small river that divided the road. She thought it odd that the area in which a famous bridge builder was from would not have even a simple bridge to cross what was essentially a big creek.

Hinata's spine shot up. "Sensei…" She whispered. "There's one person ahead… it looks like he's standing on the water… he's… his chakra is increible… like it's in the air around him." Hinata said discouragingly. "We should go around."

Anko hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Too late…" She looked down at her students. "He already knew we were coming, chances are he's aware of the bridgebuilders home."

Tazuna swallowed hard, "M-my family…?"

"Probably fine." Anko said, "unless they're also bridgebuilders.

The old man gave a sigh, a mix of relief and contempt. "You could be a bit kinder when a man's life is on the-"

Anko handed the man her high collared trench coat. "Shut up and listen!" She seethed at him, at all of them. "I am going to handle this myself. I do not want any heroics, from any of you." She eyed Naruto on her last remark. "This is the most likely the Jonin we learned about from our talkative Chunin friends from before. You are not ready for his level of combat."

The three Genin looked at each other, and then to their sensei, speechless.

"Looks like I've made my point." Anko turned and walked further into the Mist. "Keep Tazuna safe, if anything happens to me you three are going to deliver him to his home and then leave the Land of Waves by any means necessary."

"No way!" Naruto argued. "I promised to protect him, and I never go back on my-"

"Naruto!" Anko shouted, shutting him up. If the Jonin hadn't been aware of them before, he certainly was now. "I'm not going to let you all die here, that's not what _she_ would want."

Shikamaru put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Anko Sensei's got this Naruto. Trust her."

The orange clad Genin grimaced but crossed his arms and solemnly nodded.

"Great, good." Anko said as she continued her march toward her opponent. "Now I'm going to go introduce this guy's face to the ground!"

Zabuza actually heard that remark, and cackled. He had heard that Anko Mitarashi was good, her place in his Bingo Book confirmed it, but even a Sanin's apprentice would be no match for him. "If you think you're that good girl, then quit stalling!"

* * *

Anko's march turned into a run, which quickly evolved into a full on sprint. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two copies of Anko would appear on either side of her, and began vaulting a barrage of shuriken through the mist toward the figure before her.

Zubuza took advantage of his Hidden Mist Jutsu and dodged into the mist when he saw the clones stop their charge. "Water Clone Jutsu!" From below the surface of the water, a copy of Zabuza would appear and helped the Jonin vault high into the air, holding his sword high above his head.

One of Anko's clones managed to see Zabuza's shadow from above and called out to Anko, "Dodge!" Which the original, quickly reacted too, rolling behind where Zabuza would land.

Zabuza's massive blade collided with the ground where Anko had been just a moment previously, regretting the miss, he swung his blade behind him toward Anko.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Anko sighed in relief as her mud wall stopped the momentum of Zabuza's sword, performing a backflip to gain distance. Both of her clones would then rush Zabuza as he slowly pulled his sword from the thick mud, connecting a few light strikes to their opponent.

"Gah!" Zabuza groaned as he was quick punches connected with his chest. With one hand still on the hilt of his sword, he pulled a Kunai free and sliced it through the two clones.

As the mudwall dissipated, Anko spat, the two Jonin watching each other for a moment. "So… this is one of the Seven Swordsmen." She smirked at him, perhaps she could goad him into making a mistake, "Nice sword, what's it compensating for?"

Zabuza growled, and hurled the human sized sword toward Anko with surprising precision.

"Shit!" Anko said as she leapt as high as she could, the swirling blade slicing clean through the tips of her boots. As Anko watched the sword's arc, she saw it slice halfway through a thick tree behind her where it rested firmly

With his kunai still drawn, Zabuza charged at Anko, leaping up to meet her midair. As his knife went for her throat, Anko moved her head to the side, the blade thinly slicing her cheek. "First Blood! Like like you're the one who needs to compensa-"

"Shadow Snake Hands!" Anko's hands transformed into ten brown vipers, which propelled themselves at Zabuza, sinking their fangs into his limbs. The Jonin would twist her body in an attempt to fling her enemy to the ground, the vipers releasing their grip with practiced timing.

The pain from the vipers' fangs were like little lovebites to Zabuza, but being tossed into the ground was not. His body hit the ground with a bounce that slammed him into the trunk of the tree his sword was lodged into.

Anko landed a few meters from Zabuza, she felt the warmth of her blood sliding down her face where Zabuza had sliced her. '_Okay, maybe trying to make him mad was a bad idea…' _She went to her pouch and flung a kunai, the handle wrapped with a paper bomb, into the tree trunk.

Zabuza looked up to see the Kunai, and knew he had to move fast; with all four limbs, he flung himself upward, grabbing the handle of his sword and swingwing his body so he landed on top of the flat of the blade. As the bomb went off, the sheer size of his sword prevented the blast from reaching him. He let out a sigh of relief as he stood to look down at Anko. "You're as Merciless as the stories say! Anko Mitarashi, the Viper of the Leaf."

Anko glared back at Zabuza, "What, you want an autograph or something?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Zabuza saw the little group that Mitarashi had been with. "I want to know What kind of idiot brings a bunch of Genin to deal with a monster like me!" He turned and launched a handful of Shuriken toward Tazuna and the three Genin.

Anko's eyes widened as she turned to watch the Shuriken fly with a velocity that no Genin would be able to block, Not even with the Hyuga's visual prowess. '_One chance!'_ Anko flung her hands together, "Shunshin!" The Body Flicker Technique would allow her to place herself between her students and the shuriken, but the nature of the technique meat that she wouldn't be able to defend herself, after all the human brain couldn't keep up with the speed the Shunshin provided.

Zabuza's shuriken would sink into Anko's back, the four projectiles cutting deep, and forcing Anko to the ground. "Haha, well aren't you fast? Guess I was right to target the kiddies…" The Hidden Mist Shinobi planted his feet against the tree trunk, and dislodged his sword from its mass, landing on the ground.

The three Genin crouched down to try and help their Sensei. Naruto wasn't sure if they should pull the Shuriken out, Shikamaru wasn't even sure if their Sensei was still alive…

A cough from Anko turned into a gasp as she regained her breath. She picked herself up, and looked at the ground while on all fours, panting. A pain in her shoulder began to ache… but not from the shuriken… '_No… not now. Not in front of them.' _She tried to mentally suppress her pain, but coughed up blood and lost her mental fortitude.

"Anko Sensei!" Naruto put his hand on her shoulder. "Please, let us help you! You can't do it yourself!"

"Why, because I'm not good enough?" Anko asked bitterly. "Because I don't have what it takes?" Her mind was in shock. She thought back to that day, to the disappointment in her Sensei's eyes.

Zabuza approached them now, his sword firmly on his back. "Trust me kid, you wouldn't be much help for your Sensei here." He crossed his arms, glaring at Naruto, "Now, hand over the Old man… I don't have to kill all of you after all."

Naruto looked to his teammates, and both Shikamaru and Hinata looked frightened, even more so than they had been during their battle against Zabuza's underlings. The three were about to speak, to come to a conclusion, when they were interrupted.

"I told you brats." Anko growled, when she raised her head to look at them, her face and arms were covered with bizarre black markings, "_I'm_ going to end him." Pushing herself off the ground, Anko felt the Shuriken in her back being forced out of her skin, "We done warming up?" Anko asked Zabuza.

The Mist Shinobi cocked his head, "Nice tattoos… what did I knock off your makeup?" He pulled the sword from his back and charged at Anko, swinging the massive sword at her neck, but to Zabuza's surprise, the blade was stopped with minimal effort by a Kunai knife held in Anko's hand.

"You went after my students." Anko said with a frightening smile. She kicked the flat of Zabuza's sword, sending it flying high into the air. She followed the momentum of her body into another kick, which connected with Zabuza's chest. "Big mistake."

Zabuza's shock at being immediately disarmed was followed by the shock of having the wind knocked out of him from the force of Anko's kick, in fact he felt something shift inside his body. He took a few steps back, clutching his stomach, "G-gah!" he felt blood on the inside of his face cover as he coughed.

The three Genin looked at their Sensei, somewhat bewildered.

Anko pivoted, kicking out the back of Zabuza's knees, knocking him off balance before driving her elbow into his chest, forcing him into the ground.

Zabuza's eyes widened before his body dissipated into water.

"His Clone!" Anko spat, with her curse mark filling her body with natural energy, she would be able to pinpoint his location back toward the water.

The brutal pain his clone had been in was an indicator to Zabuza that he would need to finish this fight now. He began performing handsign after handsign, watching as Anko sprinted toward him. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" The water below would swirl around before rising and beginning to take its shape.

"Shit!" Anko hissed as she pulled out her summoning scrolls, "Summoning Jutsu!" MudaMura appeared before her, "take care of that dragon!"

The Giant snake grimaced, but let his massive body slam into the water Dragon's form and attempting to his weight to disperse the water. The water however would persist, and by the time Mudamura had finally sloshed the water away, he was exhausted, and disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"Damn It!" Anko cried, hurling a handful of shuriken at Zabuza, her rational mind was overwhelmed by the Curse Mark's influence and she charged at him, her speed letting her follow just behind her speeding shuriken. Pain, anger, and instinct had control over Anko's body now..

Zabuza grumbled as his Water Dragon was dispersed. He should've been able to anticipate that an Apprentice of the Sanin would be familiar with the Summoning Jutsu, but whatever these markings were doing to her, he couldn't predict. Her speed was clearly amplified, with Zabuza barely having time to form his handsign before her shuriken reached him.

Anko followed her projectiles past the bank of the river, running across the water's surface. She drew a kunai, but as shuriken hit their mark, Anko was surprised. The Zabuza that her shuriken struck dispersed back into the water, a substitution!

From below, Zabuza's trap was finally triggered. "Water style: Water Prison Jutsu!" He stuck his hand out below Anko, and water began to swiftly surround the Jonin. As she struggled against the wall of water, she would find that nothing could escape once trapped inside. Zabuza emerged from the water, standing on top of it's surface with his hand still extended.

Anko's student's turned to eachother as they saw their sensei trapped within the sphere of water and immediately felt Zabuza's deathly glare upon them.

Naruto wanted to move, wanted to fight and protect his sensei and his friends, but his body was paralyzed by fear. Zabuza had actually trapped their Sensei, and they were helpless. '_Crap, crap, crap! What are we going to do?!' _ His breathing became more intense, more panicked.

Shikamaru noticed Naruto's erratic breathing, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Remember what Anko Sensei told us… trust in our training… Remember the Forest of Death? We've taken Jonin by surprise before." He turned his body to look past Naruto, to Hinata. "Hinata, I know your Byakugan has you weakened, but we need you at top speed."

Hinata looked at Shikamaru, and nodded, crouching down to unclip her ankle weights. She then Looked at Naruto, and put her hand on his shoulder as well. "We need you too… Naruto."

Naruto's fear was pushed aside, and he looked back and forth at his two friends. "You guys…" He wanted to throw his arms around both of them, but now wasn't the time to get mushy! "You guys… I think I have a plan…"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you run it by me first?"

* * *

Zabuza's water clone began walking toward the three Genin and the old man they were protecting. It was a shame he didn't get to see them in action… after all, according to Haku the three of them should've been a problem. But it looked as though their fear had frozen the three of them. The Clone drew the sword from his back.

"Now!" Shikamaru shouted, from either side of him, Naruto and Hinata began sprinting toward the Jonin. Hinata's speed meant that she would reach the clone of Zabuza first, but instead of engaging, she leapt high over him, landing behind the water clone, and rushing the original Zabuza.

The Clone went to move after the girl, but its body was out of its control. It took everything the clone had to make its eyes look down to a long, dark shadow connecting him to the Genin with the ponytail. '_The girl was a diversion to keep me from noticing the Shadow…" _

The clone would dissipate as an orange blur slashed through its side with a kunai, and

as Naruto caught up with Hinata, he reached into his bag and pulled out his secret weapon. "Hinata!" He called as he tossed her the giant, folded shuriken.

Hinata looked down at the weapon, surprised, but grateful that Naruto had come through. "Demon Wind Shuriken! Windmill of Shadows!" She channeled as much of her chakra as she could into her Byakugan, using its visual prowess to aim the giant shuriken. When she heard Shikamaru's footsteps approach from behind, she knew it was time; She jumped as high into the air as she could, spinning her boyd with a velocity that blurred her movements, at the apex of of her rotation she flung the Shuriken at Zabuza.

Zabuza's eyes widened, these kids were more clever than their Sensei had let on. '_But it'll take more than one Shuriken to-' _In the Shadow of the first Shuriken, he saw a second one being propelled with the same speed and accuracy. 'Shadow Shuriken… the girl didn't make any handsign-' Zabuza jumped over the second Shuriken and let the first one hit him, as he suspected it dissipated into nothing. He glared at the boy with the ponytail, who had his fingers arranged in a handsign. "It'll take more than a little Genjutsu to put me down!"

The Shuriken Zabuza had jumped over suddenly poofed into smoke behind him, revealing itself to be Naruto. "How about this then!" The Genin cried as he flung four shuriken toward the back of Zabuza's head.

Zabuza didn't have time to process what had happened behind him, but jumped into the air on pure instinct. Too little too late, Naruto's Shuriken tore into Zabuza's lower back.

Anko, seeing her opportunity, jumped from the water and spun, delivering a roundhouse kick to Zabuza's back, sending him flying back to the shore of the river.

Shikamaru immediately crouched and sent his Shadow to possess Zabuza's body. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Anko were now surrounding Zabuza, with Naruto swimming up from behind.

Anko panted as she felt her rage start to slip, her curse mark slowly began receding back to its origin point. Her injuries began catching up with her, but she refused to let herself look weak in front of this scum again. "Get up!" She barked at Zabuza.

With Shikamaru's allowance, Zabuza now knelt in front of the leaf Shinobi, silent.

Anko smiled, "Not a big talker huh? Well I'm pretty good at breaking prisoner-" She was interrupted as Naruto tackled her to the ground. "N-Naruto what the Hell?"

But Naruto's reasoning became apparent as he pointed toward the Senbon, now sticking out of the side of Zabuza's neck. "I didn't want you to get surprised again Sensei."

Anko looked at Zabuza, whose body went limp as Shikamaru recalled his shadow. She then turned to look at the owner of the throwing needles, a young person in a mask, a Hidden Mist Black-Ops Mask of all things! "So… Do all you Hidden Mist Ninja work from Gato?"

The mysterious figure jumped down from their perch on a tree branch. "You misunderstand…" The Masked Shinobi Began. "Zabuza Momochi had stolen secrets, secrets the Hidden Mist could not allow to be obtained. Once we learned that the Great Viper of the Leaf was going to fight Zabuza… well, I was sent to ensure that those secrets died with him." The young voiced Masked man bowed. "Zabuza's Mission was a failure, mine was not. I am not here to fight you, just to reclaim what is ours." He passed into the group's circle without another word, moving to pick up Zabuza's body and carry it over his shoulders.

Anko glared as the Mist Shinobi walked off with Zabuza… but for now the Danger had passed. Her students had survived an encounter with a Jonin, and an encounter with her curse mark… Anko felt lightheaded, and the world around her went dark as she collapsed.


End file.
